Chennai, May 28 (IANS): While Tamil Nadu's DMK government and Chief Minister continue their stiff opposition to National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET), the number of students who have applied for the exam for medical college admissions has breached pre-Covid days.

The number of students who have applied for NEET from Tamil Nadu has touched 1,42,286 applicants, 20 per cent more than that of 2021.

This has crossed the 1.4 lakh applicants in 2019 just before Covid-19.

With this figure, Tamil Nadu ranks third in the number of applicants in the country with Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh ranking first and second, respectively.

Exemption from NEET has been one of the major election promises of the DMK and the party has passed resolutions in the Assembly towards this.

Talking to IANS, Chennai entrance coaching institution owner Sudhir Raj said: "There is no option left for the students of Tamil Nadu other than appearing for NEET as the exemption has not been obtained. The Tamil Nadu government must provide support to the students of government schools and from rural backgrounds with the necessary coaching to attempt NEET."

The increase in the number of applicants from Tamil Nadu is a setback for the DMK government of the state as this means students are least affected by the continuous campaign conducted by it and its allies against the NEET.

Annna University's former Vice-Chancellor and NEET and CUET votary Dr. Balaguruswamy said that the "state government should prepare government school students for NEET instead of playing politics over the examination".

"Government should also support students from poor backgrounds with examination fees for NEET as they may not be able to afford it," he told IANS.