'Increase NEET reservation to 50% for govt school students'

"The state government used to give free coaching classes for NEET aspirants from government and government aided schools during weekends.

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MADURAI:  To increase the number of government school students who aspire for NEET and perform well in their examination, experts said the horizontal reservation of 7.5% must be increased to 50% and that vacancies in teacher posts must be filled.    

"The state government used to give free coaching classes for NEET aspirants from government and government-aided schools during weekends. However, it was stopped due to Covid-19. Now, students are getting training only after they finish Class 12 board examinations. A few district collectors and chief educational officers are finding sponsors for government school students to get private coaching, which would help increase NEET aspirants from government schools," a teacher, on the request of anonymity, said.  

Speaking to TNIE, Tamil Nadu Post Graduate Teachers Association Former State President KPO Suresh said the recent NEET result shows that those who studied under CBSE and ICSE syllabi are able to get good marks. "They have an unfair advantage over government school students. Hence, the state government should increase the horizontal reservation from 7.5% to 50%," he added.

State Platform for Common School System-Tamil Nadu (SPCSS TN) General Secretary PB Prince Gajendra Babu said there are over 3,000 unfilled vacancies for the posts of PG teachers, lab technicians and lab assistants in government schools. "While framing the syllabus, time required for each subject and listening capacity of students should be considered. Those who get high marks in NEET say they studied over 15 hours every day. It is against children's welfare. Some students with 139 marks can join private medical colleges by splurging money. But, the number of seats available to government school students is limited," he pointed out, adding that the government needs to issue a white paper on government school infrastructure and a number of PG teachers.
 
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Year    No.of students appeared in NEET   Eligible students  Got medical seats(MBBS/BDS)
2020                 110                                                            21                              13
2021.                303                                                          100                             17
2022.                544                                                          170                               9
2023.                500                                                         141                                5