S Venkatesan, a Member of Parliament in the Lok Sabha from the Communist Marxist Party of India (CPIM) in Madurai, Tamil Nadu has written to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Wednesday stating the lack of enough National Eligibility cum Entrance Test PG centres for aspirants in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Students have already begun opting for centres in their states through an online process as the NEET PG exam is set to be held on April 18, 2021.
In his letter to the Ministry, the MP wrote that he has received several concerns over the last two days from aspirants of the NEET PG exam that they couldn't get centres in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry through the online process. "Within four hours after the start of the online process, the centres in TN seem to be full and aspirants from our state could not choose centre within the state. I was informed subsequently that centres in Puducherry and Kerala also got filled and those options are closed too," he wrote.
He further went on to add that this has created anxiety among students as it is difficult to travel outside their own states owing to the Coronavirus situation. "Staying outside may not be easy for the students and the elders accompanying them may face more difficulty," S Venkatesan wrote. Finally, he requested the Ministry to look into the matter and requested them to make more centres available in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.
The lack of enough centres in the state has turned out to be a major issue for the aspirants in TN. Students have taken to social media to express their concerns and request the government to resolve the issue at the earliest.
"@PMOIndia Sir, please ensure that every Neet PG exam applicant is allotted a centre near her home in her state itself. Not one applicant should be forced to take the exam outside her state for lack of centres. Travel is expensive and best avoided because of the pandemic," a user wrote on Twitter.
Another aspirant on Twitter requested the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu to open up more exam centres. "My request to Hon'ble CM of TN: Please ensure that every Neet PG exam applicant is assured of a centre near her residence inside TN itself. Not one citizen of TN be forced to take this exam outside for lack of centres in the state," he wrote.
