The Chief Minister announced on May 4 that the Tamil Nadu government will bear the travel and boarding expenses of students appearing for NEET outside the state.

The gorvernment announced a travel allowance of second class train fare for students and one person accompanying them. In a statement here, he said students travelling by bus, would be paid allowances not exceeding the second class train fare. He also announced an allowance of Rs 1,000 for each student. The students could receive the amount in advance from the Principal Education Officer in their district through their school Principal by producing a copy of the NEET hall ticket and the identity card issued by the school.

The students could also get the amount reimbursed after attending the NEET exams for joining the medical courses. As several  students from Tamil Nadu were allotted Rajasthan and Kerala as exam centres, political party leaders wanted the government to bear the full expenses of the students travelling outside the state for NEET exams. While the DMK wanted the government to bear the expenses, AMMK leader T T V Dhinakaran said his party would bear the expenses of those students attending exams in Kerala.

As the news went viral in the social media, several individuals, NGOs, film stars, including Prasanna and Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiyam, and people from various walks of life promised help by coming forward to sponsor the expenses of the students attending NEET outside Tamil Nadu. Soon after the Supreme Court ordered that NEET centres for medical aspirants from Tamil Nadu would be in other States of the country, the social media here went viral with hashtags like #BanNEET and #TNBoycottNEET.

But, at the same time, there were also a few others who decided to show a way out. An individual Raja Sriram from Chennai posted on his Facebook, ''I am willing to sponsor flight tickets from Chennai to Jaipur to 5 TN students who have got NEET exam centres in Jaipur (Rajasthan) and will not be able to make it on time. ''5 students along with one guardian each (10 tickets in total). If you know any deserving candidate who could not reach Jaipur on time, please PM me along with their details'', he said. In heartwarming gestures, youngsters and social media activists from across the State have been posting such statements for the benefit of NEET aspirants.