Politicians clamour to take credit

‘Politicians in the state have wasted no time in giving themselves a pat on the back for the Centre’s decision on NEET. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing relief for the students while MNS chief Raj Thackeray claimed the Centre had responded to his pursuance of the matter.

Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray appealed to the education ministers from all the states to start preparation for next year’s NEET now itself, so that the students do not suffer.

Mr Fadnavis had met Mr Modi a few days ago requesting him to postpone the exam. “I had requested Prime Minister to postpone the exam for a year, to which he agreed. I really thank him for that. The CBSE and state syllabi are different and the state students would not have been able to cope with it in just two months time. Many of our students give entrance exam in Marathi and there was no book available in the language for NEET,” Mr Fadnavis said.

Raj Thackeray also expressed his gratitude to both the chief minister and Prime Minister. He had spoken with the PM last week after a few parents approached him to intervene in the matter. He had also met the CM with a delegation of parents. “I thank the CM and the PM for taking the decision and bringing relief to lakhs of students. They have replied to my appeal to them to cancel the exam this year. I will soon speak with the chief minister on how to plan for NEET next year,” Mr Raj Thackeray said.

Though Shiv Sena did not intervene in the matter much, Aditya Thackeray has also expressed his happiness over cancellation of NEET this year. “I am glad that NEET has been postponed by a year, as lakhs of students would have been held back from their dream profession. Students deserve the credit for standing up to this decision in the face of all pressure to have the NEET postponed,” he said. The young leader also advised education ministers of other states to “start training centres at district level for the next year.”