NEET candidates said that the exam this year was easier compared to last year. Many said that Biology was particularly easy this time. "It was not as bad as I imagined," said Bhuvaneshwari from Montfort school. This was echoed by others too, "I had attempted the exam last year and I found this year's paper much easier. I took up engineering after I didn't get through NEET so Physics was a little easy for me compared to others," said K P Soumya, a state syllabus student.
Alex Christopher from Tambaram said that there were only a few questions from the state syllabus portions but the exam was not too complicated,"I think I have done better than I thought. I hope to get good marks." Others said that Chemistry was a bit toughre than they had bargained for, "Chemistry was a little difficult. The questions were all CBSE, save for a few. But these few were also a little difficult. Anyway I took a crash course so it helped a little," said Hema from Chennai.
Unlike last year though, this year most students said they had gone through some sort of coaching classes, many of which were organised by the government. The classes were organised either within their own campus or arrangements were made for the students to take up the classes elsewhere. "We only had to pay the bus fare. The school organised the rest," said Shakuntala M, whose daughter was attempting the exam for the first time.
But for some students, the distance was a little too far, "I sent my daughter for only one week of coaching because it was quiet far away from our village and she had to take two buses. It would become as late as 8.30 or 9 pm and it's just not safe for a girl child to be out that late," said Helen Mary from Goonipalyam, Thiruvarur. "My daughter went for one day's coaching but it was too overwhelming for her. She had just spent all the days and nights studying for her 12th exam and then to go again and do it all over again was too much for her. So I didn't want to pressurize her and asked her to prepare as much as she can from home through internet and other means, " said Fathima B, Sriperumbudur.
Most of these parents who have gone through all sorts of struggles to get their children to write their exams but say that if they had been forced to go to Rajasthan they wouldn't have been able to make it. "We wouldn't have gone. They're no way we could have made it all the way. It would have been too much for us to take. We really do sympathize with those students who have been allotted centres there. Here it self it's do difficult for us, in our own state. (I) Can't even imagine what it might feel like to go all the way there," said Fathima.
The tension had gotten to some parents. "A neighbor near our house in Thoothukudi was alloted a centre in Ernakulam but because the case was in court, they didn't book tickets. Till the very last minute they were tense because they had no idea what to do," said Ramadevi.
