Many National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aspirants were faced with shattered hopes for a second time this year after they were denied entry into their examination centres for being late.
While some showed up with bandages after reportedly meeting with an accident, others blamed Google Maps for giving wrong directions. Due to various reasons, exam centres across the country witnessed crying, defeated candidates, for whom a few minutes derailed their future and ruined years of preparation.
The NEET-UG re-exam began at centres across the country and overseas on Sunday, June 21, amid tight security arrangements after the cancellation of the earlier May 3 exam amid an ongoing probe into the question paper leak.
The examination was conducted across 5,440 centres in 551 cities in India between 2 pm and 5.15 pm. Gates to the exam centres were closed at 1:30 pm.
Two students were reportedly denied entry at the exam centre in Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in KPHB for arriving late.
At RN Inter College, several students reportedly missed their examination after Google Maps directed them to the wrong location, IANS reported.
In Uttar Pradesh’s Moradabad, a student was denied entry after he allegedly lost the photograph used for verification. He claimed that the officials had assured him the gates would remain open till he came back with the photo.
“This is my second attempt. I faced a similar issue with biometric verification last year and was unable to take the exam. This time, too, I was late. My attempt on May 3 was good,” he said.
In Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, two students were denied entry into the exam centre after arriving late.
Amir Qadri, uncle of one of the aspirants, told PTI, “I have come here with my nephew for his examination. While on our way to the examination centre, we met with an accident and got a bit late, since my nephew received first aid. Now that we have reached here, we are being denied entry. The authorities are saying the exam has already begun and that it won’t be possible to permit us entry.”
Tensions flared outside an exam centre in Delhi after the gates were closed for two students who arrived at 1:30 pm. Relatives accompanying the students were seen banging on the gate while others chimed in, saying “inke future ka sawal hai” (this will ruin their future). The students were seen trying to convince officials through an opening in the gate.
Another heart-wrenching video emerged from Bengaluru in Karnataka, where three students were seen crying outside a closed gate of a NEET exam centre.
A few students climbed over the main gate in a desperate attempt to enter the center, only to find the inner gate shut.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday delayed his travel to his residence after arriving at Delhi’s IGI airport from Kolkata, to ensure no candidate appearing in the NEET re-examination faces any inconvenience due to traffic restrictions.
Sources said that after arriving at the IGI airport at around 1:15 PM, the Prime Minister chose to wait at the airport instead of immediately leaving for his residence at Lok Kalyan Marg.
Since the NEET examination was scheduled to begin at 2 PM, the Prime Minister decided to leave for his residence only after the exam commenced, ensuring that no student faces any inconvenience in reaching the examination centre and that traffic movement remained unaffected, sources said.
The Prime Minister was returning from his two-day trip of Odisha and West Bengal during which, among other events, he participated in a programme in Kolkata on the occasion of International Yoga Day on Sunday.
(With inputs from PTI.)
