A 21-year-old student preparing to appear for the upcoming National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions reportedly died by suicide on Friday in fear of failing the examination near Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
Police officials said the student, Devadharshini, was attending coaching classes and preparing for NEET - which is scheduled to be held on May 4 - and was stressed because she had failed to crack the exam in her last four attempts.
Devadharshini had told her parents that she was stressed about the exam and they had reassured her, saying she had no reason to worry, an official said. The 21-year-old spent most of Friday at her father's bakery and then told him she was going home and would return. Her mother found her hanging at home some time later, NDTV reported.
At least 20 NEET aspirants have died by suicide in Tamil Nadu in the past eight years. Earlier on March 1, a 19-year-old student from Tindivanam in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district allegedly died by suicide due to fear of underperforming in the NEET.
Opposition slams DMK
The Tamil Nadu government has long opposed NEET, arguing that the exam is unfair to economically disadvantaged and Tamil-medium students. The MK Stalin-led government have opposed the Central exam and want admissions to be done based on Class 12 marks.
In 2021, the Tamil Nadu Assembly had passed a bill seeking exemption from NEET.
Following Devadharshini's death, AIADMK General Secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami hit out at MK Stalin and his party DMK, accusing them of deceiving students by promising that NEET would not be held in Tamil Nadu if the DMK came to power.
"The DMK lied and deceived students by saying there would be no NEET in Tamil Nadu if it came to power. Are the continuing deaths because of NEET not a cause for concern for the DMK?" Palaniswami wrote in Tamil on X.
"How are you going to wipe away the bloodstains that keep accumulating on your hands from the big lie you told for electoral gains," he asked.
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