Chennai: A 19-year-old ends her life after failing the NEET twice; the following day, her father hangs himself

Photographer Selvasekar hanged himself on Sunday at his family's residence in the Chromepet neighbourhood of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, hours after cremating his teenage son, who committed suicide after failing the NEET exam twice in the previous two years.

In 2022, S Jegadeshwaran, then 19 years old, finished Class XII. He tried twice since then to pass the National Eligibility cum Admission Test (Undergraduate) test, but he was unsuccessful.

On Saturday afternoon, Jegadeshwaran allegedly took the drastic action while alone himself at home. Selvasekar requested the domestic help to check on Jegadeshwaran when he was unable to reach his son on call. The domestic help discovered Jegadeshwaran hanging in his room.

The youngster was transported to the hospital by their neighbours, where doctors pronounced him dead.

The boy's parents claim that he went to excessive lengths because he was discouraged by his failure to pass the test twice.

Selvasekar took his own life on Sunday because he was unable to handle losing his son. His father killed himself in the middle of the night after returning home after Jegadeshwaran's funeral, which left the neighbourhood in a state of deep sorrow.

CM OF TAMIL NADU EXPRESSES SORROW
"I was startled to learn that Jegadeeswaran from Chromepet, who was a NEET aspirant, committed suicide," the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu stated in a statement condoling the deaths of Jegadeeswaran and his father. The day after I was considering how to comfort his parents, his father Selvasekar too committed suicide."

"I'm not sure how to comfort Jegadeeswaran's loved ones or friends. It is terrible that a talented student who aspired to be a doctor has now added his or her name to the list of NEET suicides "Said he.

Under any circumstances, the Chief Minister pleaded with people not to take the drastic measure.

"I'm requesting this of all students: Nobody should perish at any time. NEET, whatever stands in the way of your objectives, may undoubtedly be eliminated. The Tamil Nadu government is pursuing this through legal means, according to Stalin.

TAMIL NADU NEET POLITICS

In Tamil Nadu, NEET is seen as being "anti-poor" and "discriminatory" towards children attending government institutions and coming from rural areas. Since 2017, more than twenty students have committed themselves as a result of failing the exam.

The NEET (exemption) Bill was enacted by the state's DMK government in 2021, however the governor of Tamil Nadu, R. N. Ravi, vetoed it in February 2022.

The legislation was then passed once more and returned to him.