Thalapathy Vijay says 'diversity is strength, not weakness', demands NEET ban

Thalapathy Vijay resumed honouring the top-performing students in Tamil Nadu at a ceremony in Chennai on Wednesday. Before starting the felicitation ceremony, Vijay shared his candid opinion on the ongoing debate about the NEET exam.

For the uninitiated, NEET stands for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test. It is a single-level national entrance exam conducted in India for students who want to pursue undergraduate medical courses (MBBS) in government or private medical colleges across the country. Recently, this process has been embroiled in serious allegations, sparking debates about its necessity.

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Students and political leaders in Tamil Nadu have long opposed the NEET exam, and recent revelations about corruption in the examination process, including paper leaks, have increased the clamour against it.

The issue was also raised during debates in the Lok Sabha. Vijay expressed solidarity with the demand to remove the controversial examination and allow states to conduct their own exams.

"The NEET is against students in Tamil Nadu, especially those belonging to backward classes. It's against the rights of the state. One nation, one education policy, and one exam are against the very idea of education. The education curriculum should vary in accordance with each state. It will create space for different perspectives to shine. Diversity is a strength; it's not a weakness. Also, it's unfair for students who studied the state syllabus to take exams based on the NCERT syllabus. We read news about the lapses in conducting the recent NEET exams. I believe that the whole country has lost faith in it. A ban on the NEET is the immediate solution," Vijay said in his speech.

Vijay also encouraged students to develop a strong resilience against failure. "Learning is fun; education is a celebration. Don't take stress. There are countless opportunities in this vast world. Don't lose heart because you lose a few of them," he advised.

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