This year, no candidate from the State was placed in the top 20 ranks in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test’s (NEET) merit list. The first candidate from Tamil Nadu is ranked 23 in the country.
S.A. Geethanjali, who scored 710 marks, shares the spot with M. Pravin, S.K. Prasenjithan and R. Arvind, all of whom have scored the same marks, but have been ranked further down.
T. Archithaa and M.B. Hayagrivas, both with a score of 705, will probably qualify for the second rank in the State merit list.
Medical education officials said they would wait for clarification from the State government on the reservation policy, before issuing a notification regarding admissions.
The minimum qualifying mark to be eligible for admission this year for the unreserved (general category) is 138, as against 147 the last year. For other communities, it is 108. Last year, it was 113. In 2020, the qualifying marks for the category was reduced to 134, during the mop-up round counselling for deemed universities, by the Director General of Health Services. It is possible that a similar scenario will pan out this year as well. This means that qualifying marks could drop by a few points.
With a total of 9,100 seats, including 1,560 in deemed universities, the State is comfortably poised to accommodate more students.
This could, to some extent, also reduce cut-off marks for candidates aspiring for medical admissions.
“Since we have 11 new colleges and students from other parts of the country will not opt for them, it is safe to assume that our students will take all 1,450 seats in the new colleges,” said R. Prasad Manne, who has been coaching students from under-privileged backgrounds.
Only when the Education Department releases the details of students who have qualified from government schools, will a clearer picture of their performance and eligibility emerge.
