No medical seat despite clearing NEET

G Arun Kumar, who is 28 years old, lost three of his fingers in an accident way back in 2008.
No medical seat despite clearing NEET

MADURAI: At a time when students are hassled by its implementation, a person with disability managed to clear the NEET in a single shot. However, the authorities have allegedly denied him admission claiming that he is ‘physically unfit’.

G Arun Kumar, who is 28 years old, lost three of his fingers in an accident way back in 2008. Though he had a diploma in lab technology, the State Medical Services Recruitment Board allegedly denied him employment citing his disability. The job holder, the Board said, would have to handle minute instruments. Undaunted, Arun continued his education and successfully cleared NEET in 2018.

However, in the medical examination, while the Regional Medical Board certified his eligibility, the Madurai Medical Board declared him as unfit. As a consequence, Arun was not called for counselling that academic year. He then approached the High Court. “I was not given an explanation on why I was rejected,” says Arun.

“For each and every answer, I had to go knock at the court’s door.” The court finally passed on order calling for a fresh medical board to be constituted to examine Arun. But that order came too late, on April 23, 2019. Though Arun lost a year, he knew the board certified his eligibility for admission. Still, Arun was not called for counselling in 2019. When he went to court claiming contempt, the medical board said he had cleared NEET in 2018, and therefore was not eligible for admission in 2019.

While the case is still pending in court, Arun, who has lost over a decade of his life to official callousness, is now clueless.          

"Securing any sort of government clearance has been a challenge for me," says Arun. "Even for a driving licence, I had to get a clearance from the Madurai Medical Board. Funnily enough, they do not have any equipment to test my eligibility. So they plainly rejected my application saying I am three fingers short of clearing the test."

Arun feels the Board should have taken the responsibility of figuring out how disabled persons can use bikes for easy accessibility. "I have been riding my bike for the last eight years without any hassles. But the Board finished its job by branding me as unfit." Not the one to give up, Arun approached the district administration seeking justice.

The board was ordered to submit a fresh report after conducting due tests. "This time I was not even let inside the room for the examination," says Arun. "I was first asked to sign the register. They had kept the rejection certificate ready. It was handed to me even before any test was carried out."

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