NEET aspirant seeks Nagpur centre as top choice, allotted Abu Dhabi days before re-test

AEducatee from Nagpur go down to seem for the NEET re-examination was allotted an exam centre in Abu Dhabi in United arabian Emirates, years before the test on Sunday, June 21.The aspirant had opted for Nagpur as his preferred city for the examination, scheduled to be held on Sunday. However, he was allotted an overseas centre, an error which was later addressed by the National Testing Agency (NTA), ANI news agency reported. However, the incident initially led to uncertainty for the candidate's family, who said that he did not have a passport, nor did they have enough time to obtain one. "We are completely unable to send our child abroad for the exam. He does not even have a passport, and there is no time left to make travel arrangements," the student's father, Mohammad Talib, told ANI. Reacting to the error, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi launched criticism against the NTA, saying the agency was “testing the patience of the country.” “A system that can't provide a center in a child's own city but can send them abroad instead—it has no right to conduct exams,” the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said in a post on X.Admit card assigned for May 3 exam allotted Nagpur centreThe admit card which had been issued for the May 3 NEET-UG examination had allotted a centre at Saraswati Vidyalaya in Nagpur to the candidate. However, the exam was cancelled following allegations of ireegularities and paper leaks.However, when the student downloaded the admit card for the rescheduled examination, he discovered that his centre had been shifted to the Abu Dhabi Indian School in the UAE, according to the ANI report. The student's family said he had opted for Nagpur as his first choice while filling out the application form, followed by Wardha and Bhandara. After they discovered the discrepancy, the student's family lodged a complaint with the NTA helpline. The agency acknowledged the error and assured them that they would issue a revised admit card after verifying all details. The NTA director general Abhishek Singh later told ANI that the candidate had been allotted a centre in Nagpur.Also Read | The human toll of NEET: 11 reported suicides after paper leak forced re-test‘Extortion of entire generation’s money, time'In his post on X, Rahul questioned the mistake made by the NTA, asking how it took place. “How did this even happen? Yesterday, no student should have had any complaint about not being able to reach their center,” Rahul said. He further reiterated, “I said the same thing in Kota—this is no longer an education system. This is nothing but extortion of an entire generation's money, time, and mental peace.”Rahul further called for a “sensitive, responsible, and accountable education system and exam authority.”Former Maharashtra education minister Dr. Anees Ahmed also slammed the error as a “serious lapse” had urged the agency to immediately rectify it by allotting the student a centre in Nagpur or a city nearby.This comes even as the NTA has implemented security and logistical arrangements for the smooth and transparent conduct of the re-examinations. The exam materials are being transported under strict security protocols in GPS-enabled vehicles along with police escorts, according to ANI. Additional security measures are in place at the exam centres, including CCTV surveillance, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication and real-time monitoring systems.