Student dies by suicide over NEET exam fear in TN’s Villupuram

Chennai: A 19-year-old student from Tindivanam in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district allegedly died by suicide due to fear of underperforming in the upcoming National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

The deceased, identified as Indhu from Thadapuram village near Tindivanam, was found hanging at her home on Saturday while she was alone.

Indhu had completed her Class 12 from a government higher secondary school in her village with good marks. She had also undergone NEET coaching at a private institute in Puducherry and had appeared for the exam last year, scoring 350 marks, but did not clear it.

Determined to succeed this year, she had been preparing for the exam again and had recently obtained her OBC certificate, which she submitted along with her application.

On Saturday(March 1), while her parents and brother were away working in the fields, Indhu took her own life. When they returned in the evening, they found her hanging from the ceiling fan.

The family immediately alerted the Velimedu Pettai police station, and officers arrived at the scene around 11 p.m. The police took possession of the body and sent it to Villupuram Government Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

An investigation into the incident is currently underway.

This tragedy follows a similar case in October 2024, when another 19-year-old student, S. Punitha from Keelmugam village in Edappadi Taluk, Salem district, died by suicide after failing to secure a medical seat despite two years of NEET coaching.

Punitha had also attended counseling for paramedical courses but was unable to obtain a seat under the government quota, leading to her distress.

The Tamil Nadu government has long opposed NEET, arguing that the exam is unfair to economically disadvantaged and Tamil-medium students.

In June 2024, the state’s Legislative Assembly passed a unanimous resolution against NEET, following controversies over leaked NEET-UG 2024 question papers and the postponement of NEET-PG 2024.

The ruling DMK and its allies have consistently demanded an exemption for Tamil Nadu from NEET. In a May 15, 2024, editorial published in Murasoli, the DMK’s official newspaper, the party claimed that 119 NEET aspirants had died by suicide over the past eight years. The editorial stressed that scrapping NEET is the only way to prevent student suicides and eliminate incidents of cheating in the exam.

IANS