Students petition for and against NEET

A group of people staging a demonstration at the Madurai Collectorate on Monday.

The Collectorate premises here witnessed two different groups of students petition the Collector for and against National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test (NEET) on Monday.

Those who favoured the exam said many of them completed Plus Two in State Board syllabus last year and spent another year preparing for NEET. They said Tamil Nadu getting an exemption from NEET would doom their dream of becoming doctors.

Those against NEET said it affected State Board students, particularly those from rural areas. Private coaching centres, which were planning to make money through NEET coaching, were lobbying for it, they said.