MBBS Aspirants In Shock as CBSE moves SC against NEET exam center reallocation

New Delhi: With NEET just round the corner, CBSE has moved the Supreme Court challenging the Madras HC order for reallocation of NEET exam centers, by the board, for Tamil Nadu students who had been given seats outside the state.

Earlier the Madras High Court in response to a PIL filed on April 27, had directed the CBSE to reallocate the examination centers. However, with the CBSE's non-compliance to the court order NEET aspirants have been inconvenienced.

With just three days left, the CBSE has moved the Supreme Court. With students busy with their last minute NEET revision, center re-allocations not done could become a nuisance. Last year, the priority challenging the state was the compulsion to sit for NEET to get through medical colleges.

However, this year, the burden of it has lessened with nine residential training centers having been set up by the school education department on April 10 to train NEET aspirants of the state.

"About 3,000 students who had registered themselves for NEET alone were permitted into the course. Students were provided with books, learning resources, food, and accommodation," said a school education department official, as per an Indian Express report.

After announcing the holding of the forthcoming NEET on May 6, the CBSE issued admit cards to the Tamil Nadu students, allocating then examination centers in states like Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Kerala. A significant development at that time had been the School Education Minister, KA Sengottaiyan declaration that only CBSE students had been allotted centers outside the state as reported by the Indian Express.

"The government will ensure that students of government or government-aided schools will get centers in the State itself," he had then added.

This announcement was taken up by a division bench of Justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and M while disposing of lawyer S Kalimuthu Mylavan ‘s public interest litigation (PIL).

Mylavan in his submission had stated that the TN candidates were allotted examination centers in other states unlike what was mentioned in their applications.

The petitioner had argued that outside center allocations would turn out to be problematic keeping the financial status of the majority of rural candidates in mind.

"Because of allotment of exam centers in other states, the candidates will have to travel a long distance and there will be financial implications on them," the bench had observed at that time, reported India Today.

"We direct the CBSE that in respect of the candidates who have been allotted centers in Kerala, Rajasthan or other faraway places or in other states, (they) shall be allotted centers adjacent to their place of residence or at least in Tamil Nadu at the earliest," the bench had added.