NEET 2020: Number of applicants in Tamil Nadu dips by 17%

CHENNAI: The number of students applying for Neet-2020 from Tamil Nadu has dropped by nearly 17% over 2018-19, against an increase of 74,000 nationwide, as per National Testing Agency data.
There are 1.40 lakh applications this year against 1.40 lakh in 2019, the first time a dip has been registered since 2016. This, say teachers and counsellors, is due to many reasons including increasing cut-off, which proved tough for state board students, and more repeaters getting seats.The huge demand-supply gap in the number of seats has also discouraged aspirants from writing Neet without preparation.
In 2019, of the 4,202 students who joined MBBS after writing Neet, 2,916 (70%) were old students. This year, many said they would take a break and apply in 2021. R Vivek Kumar of Chennai said, "I have been attending coaching class and preparing for the exam. But I am not confident of getting into a medical school this year. I want to perfect my scores in mock test before I write my entrance."
N Vijayan, principal of Zion Matric Higher Secondary School in Tambaram, said many students were disheartened last year after cut-offs increased, by 80 to 100 marks, across categories. "Since a majority of repeaters got seats, many students wanted to take a break to prepare for medical entrance. We counselled them to apply for Neet this year."
P Swaminathan, secretary of SRV Schools in Namakkal and Trichy, said more than 50% of their students appearing for Neet 2020 were repeaters. "The attitude towards MBBS is changing . Current batch students are looking for options other than medicine." The cut-off for BC students, which was 475 marks in 2019, could cross 500 this year.
While the number of students joining biology stream or science stream in Class XI is declining every year, the number of Neet aspirants from government and government-aided schools has dropped drastically this year. "Even our teachers are not very enthusiastic due to the results. The National Testing Agency should fix a cap on attempts or bar old students from appearing for Neet," a government school headmaster said. At present, there is no limit on the number of attempts a student can make to clear Neet.