Marks and exams don’t make life, actor Surya appeals to students appearing for NEET

Following three suicides over the last one week over the fear of failure in NEET, actor Suriya Sivakumar has reached out to students. In a nearly two-minute video in Tamil, the superstar made an emotional appeal to students not to end their lives.

“I can tell as one among you that marks and exams alone don’t make life. There are many things to achieve. Be bold and confident. Many of us who love you and understand you are here. All of us can win big in life. Let there be no fear,” Suriya said.

The actor pleaded with students to speak about everything with someone they trust and love – parents, elders, friends or teachers. “This pain and fear would vanish in a short time. Ending life is a lifetime punishment you give to your parents and those who you love.”

என் தம்பி தங்கைகளுக்கு…
அச்சமில்லை அச்சமில்லை அச்சமென்பதில்லையே… pic.twitter.com/jFOK9qxqyN

— Suriya Sivakumar (@Suriya_offl) September 18, 2021

Suriya revealed that he also failed several exams. “I have scored bad marks so I can definitely say marks and exams are not the only things, there are several things and there are several people who are there to understand you and love you. If you are hopeful and courageous, then you can definitely win big.”

He also quoted a song of freedom fighter Subramania Bharathi Achamilai Achamilai Acham Enbathu Ilaye, which means “I have no fear, I have no fear, I have no fear over anything”.

Last week, the Tamil Nadu state government imposed a ban on NEET by introducing a bill to seek exemption from the entrance exam for its medical colleges. Moreover, a state-appointed committee found that NEET undermined the diverse social representation in MBBS and other higher medical studies, favoring mainly affluent segments of the society. The report said that students of Tamil-medium government schools with a rural background, whose parental income is less than Rs 2.5 lakh per annum, and the socially oppressed and disadvantaged groups (OBCs, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) are affected most because of NEET.

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In 2016, through a court order NEET became the only single-window exam for any medical college in India. The entrance exam came into effect from the academic year 2017-18.