COIMBATORE: Students are under severe stress due to the different stands of state and central governments regarding NEET, member of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) R G Anand has said.
Addressing media persons after conducting an inspection at the observation home for children in conflict with the law in Coimbatore on Thursday, Anand said, “The central government has made it clear that NEET cannot be withdrawn. Some anti-social elements are creating confusion among students by spreading rumours about NEET. The state government should take stringent action against those who spread rumours about NEET on social media.”
When pointed out that the state government has passed a bill seeking exemption from NEET and has mounted a legal challenge opposing the exam, Anand said all those who are acting in a way that causes confusion among students are “anti-social”.
On the Ambasamudram incident, the NCPCR member said no juvenile has been subject to the alleged police torture as per the preliminary inquiry. “If there is confirmation that children had undergone police torture, the commissioner will take appropriate action,” he added.
On his inspections, Anand said he has so far visited 21 homes across Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Puducherry. There have been several complaints, and are mainly about religious conversion and drug abuse. The inspections began on March 26 and will continue till April 12. At the end of it, a report would be submitted to the government.
The details of the functioning and facilities of all the observation homes in the country have been made available in the Monitoring App for Seamless Inspection (MASI) App. The details based on the inspection will be updated in the app to draw comparisons between homes.
“In Tamil Nadu inspection has been conducted in Chennai and Coimbatore. Thanjavur, Tiruchy, and Tirunelveli are the other places where inspections are to be conducted. Coimbatore rural police and the district administration have done a good job in maintaining the home. I interacted with inmates and found out they are satisfied with the functioning. The environment and cleanliness are well maintained,” he said.
“ The number of child marriages reported in Coimbatore is high, it is due to awareness among children and reporting mechanism available. Project Pallikoodam implemented by the rural police has helped to reach out to 2.5 lakh children in Pocso and child marriages. Police have stopped 250 child marriages,” Anand said.