BENGALURU: Karnataka government is committed to taking special initiatives to provide NEET coaching to students from rural areas, Medical Education, Skill Development and Livelihood Minister Dr Sharanaprakash R Patil told the Council on Monday.

During the Question Hour, Congress MLC Ivan D’Souza raised concerns that the NEET system is depriving rural students of medical education and questioned whether poor students from rural areas can afford the coaching with just Rs 3 lakh provided.

Responding to Ivan, Patil clarified that the NEET system has not caused any shortage in the state’s seats, nor has the number of seats decreased. He noted that while they had decided to scrap the NEET system, the Supreme Court had ruled in its favour. Therefore, the government will take various measures to provide more effective NEET exam coaching to rural students, he assured.