NEET is a word that triggers different emotions in Tamil Nadu. Since its introduction, a few political parties have supported this examination and its objectives while some argue it creates disadvantages for lower-income groups as the coaching required is expensive.
For a minute set aside all these away and look at 2 NEET stories from Coimbatore.
Her name was Anu Keerthana, a 19-year old Coimbatore girl.
Her aspiration was to become a doctor, and she attempted NEET twice; once in 2025 and another in May 2026. Anu was confident that she could crack NEET UG in her 2nd attempt but that exam was scrapped after the NEET question paper leak controversy came to light.
A re-exam was announced but for Anu the pressure was something immense. She was frustrated and she took an extreme step. She is no more. Her father and her whole family cried that this should be the last life that perishes because of NEET.
The next incident you are going to read is a story of another girl from Coimbatore.
Her name is S.M. Aathi, a student of Corporation Girls Higher Secondary School in R.S. Puram (West).
She completed school in 2025-26 academic year and appeared for NEET UG this year. She successfully cracked it and obtained 586/720. She took NEET coaching from a private and popular institution from 11th std. onwards.
Taking coaching for NEET is definitely an expensive matter. Anu Keerthana in her last message to relatives reportedly said “I had taken the NEET exam and was waiting to join medical college, but the exam was cancelled. Now, I am afraid to take the test again. My father has spent a lot of money on me; I do not know how I can ever look him in the face again.”
Regardless of whether one clears NEET or fails at it, they are brave hearts for taking one of the toughest exams in the country. But the pressure falls on the candidate not primarily because of the result of the exam but from the guilt that they failed to make their parents’ enormous spending feel worthy.
Not just in Coimbatore, across India that parents spend a lot to support their children’s dream, especially if it deals with education. Indian parents value education as it is the key to succeeding in life and earning the respect of society. When children feel guilty they could not deliver what their parents hoped for, they are unable to handle the pressure.
A farmer named Rajesh Kumar in Rajasthan sold his land and took a massive loan to fulfil his son Pradeep Kumar’s MBBS dream. Pradeep was confident of clearing the exam he wrote on May 3rd. But when the exam was cancelled, and he had to take a re-test, it affected him a lot, and he took his life. Similar unfortunate incidents happened across India this year due to the question paper leak.
A request to the Central & State Govt
Let us keep in mind that NEET is here to stay. So firstly, State Governments across India should join hands with Union Government to establish NEET Coaching Centres. These centres should provide NEET coaching of high standard at affordable cost. This is not unachievable, and doing this will reduce the financial burden of the candidates’ parents and the mental agony of the aspirants.
Union Govt on the other hand should make this whole exam fool-proof, and also create a nation-wide program that lightens the load that students carry mentally when they prepare for the exams. Special sessions with the objective to remove the fear of the exam should be held for held for the candidates.
