‘There is a world beyond NEET’: Actor Vijay urges students to back honest, corruption-free candidates

Actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay who once rushed to the spot when Anitha, a 12th-grade student committed suicide, as she could not crack the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), seems to have come out of his fight against it. Actor Vijay’s remarks saying, “there is a vast world beyond NEET,” comes in a state where there is a strong opposition to NEET exams, as it defies opportunities for students. 

 

Speaking at an event on Friday, the actor-politician urged the students to discard NEET and choose a different path. After giving away the award to the rank holders in the 10th and 12th classes, at an event in Poonjeri near Mahabalipuram Vijay said that the NEET exams are not the end of the world. 

 

“Though academic achievement is important, don’t let it overwhelm you with stress and anxiety. NEET is not the end of the world. There is a vast world beyond it, full of opportunities. You have so much more to achieve in life,” he said. 

 

Decoding Vijay’s statement

 

By making the statement on the exam, Vijay meant to say that competitive exams like NEET cause mental distress and agony to the students and there are other opportunities in the fields like Artificial Intelligence. 

 

He urged the students to keep their minds open and embrace democratic values. “Only democracy can bring freedom. Freedom will sustain worldwide and ensure everything for everyone. Encourage your family members to exercise their democratic duty by choosing honest, trustworthy, and corruption-free candidates. Reject cash for votes.” 

 

Warning that powerful people would come with stacks of cash to offer to the people during the election, he asked the students to choose wise people through their votes. 

 

He also urged the students to go for scientific and technical thinking, while keeping caste and religious divisions at bay. Mentioning the reference to Periyar’s caste in a question in the UPSC question paper, he said caste and religious divisions should be kept away “like how you would keep away from drugs.”

India