Over a lakh students are estimated to have appeared for the National-Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET - UG) 2023 in Kerala on Sunday.
The examination was held across 16 city centres. The National Testing Agency (NTA) made elaborate arrangements for the examination for admission to undergraduate medical and allied courses.
While nearly 1.28 lakh students had registered for the NEET entrance in the State, a final count of the attendees is yet to be disclosed by the NTA.
Stringent screening
Candidates were permitted entry to the examination centres from 11 a.m. after stringent screening. The examination was held from 2 p.m. to 5.20 p.m. While the examination was embroiled in controversy last year after several girl students had been forced to remove their innerwear during frisking at a centre in Kollam, no such controversy has been reported this time.
However, some students who reportedly turned up wearing ornaments were made to remove them. As opposed to the previous years, students were allowed to carry transparent water bottles in view of the soaring temperatures.
Complaints
A few complaints have cropped up regarding the conduct of the examination in centres in Kottayam and Kozhikode.
Over 400 students who appeared for the NEET examination from a centre in Channanikkad, Kottayam, were allegedly denied the ‘cool-off time’ due to a delay in completing the biometric registration prior to the examination. Some parents also claimed many students were forced to stand under the hot sun while the process dragged on.
The examination was delayed by over an hour at a centre in Engapuzha, Kozhikode, following shortage in the number of question papers. Nearly 480 students appeared from the centre.
