Excelsior Correspondent
BEERWAH, May 3: National Conference (NC) working president, Omar Abdullah today condemned the lack of seriousness shown by the PDP-BJP Government in taking timely action to prevent the extension of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) to J&K. “NEET is against the interests of our students and clearly goes against the spirit and essence of J&K’s special status.
The State Government has shown a stunning sense of irresponsibility and lack of seriousness in dealing with this issue and this has created apprehension and anxiety in the minds of our students when they should be solely focused on their academic pursuits and upcoming entrance examinations”, NC Working president said while addressing workers’ conventions at Peth Makhama, Cherhaar and Waltal Pora areas in his Beerwah Constituency in Central Kashmir.
“Indolence and irresponsibility have become the two distinct traits of the PDP-BJP Government and its top-level leadership. Such crucial issues deserve the prompt, timely and undivided attention of the Chief Minister and the State Government. Even the minutest callousness has the potential of having far reaching political implications in a State like J&K. Despite being aware of how NEET was against the interests of our students and also against the spirit of our autonomous character, the PDP-BJP Government did not move a petition in the Supreme Court until questions were raised in the media about the Government’s lack of action – at which time they were forced to move a petition in the Supreme Court”, Mr Abdullah said while addressing party workers.
The NC Working President said there was a fifty percent reservation system in J&K’s medical colleges for girl students and this was one of the hard-fought achievements of Sher-e-Kashmir Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah who believed in women empowerment through equal opportunities in education. “NEET poses the grave threat that this significant percentage of reserved seats in our medical colleges meant for girl students from our State will now have to be shared on a national level. Our girl students would possibly have to compete for these reservations against students from the rest of the country. Then there are issues of curriculum mismatches, differences in syllabus as well as systemic incongruities. Our students should be free of these anxieties and they should be focusing on their studies instead”, the NC Working President stated.