THIRUVANANTHAPURAM/KOTTAYAM/KOZHIKODE: The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET (UG), saw the participation of 1.29 lakh students across 289 centres in the state on Sunday. According to a NEET-UG regional coordinator, around 1.32 lakh students had registered for the all-India examination from the state.
NEET-UG is a single entrance test for admissions to MBBS and BDS colleges across India. It is one of the largest examinations in the country in terms of registered applicants. The examination was held successfully in Kerala, save for two incidents.
At Engapuzha in Kozhikode, the examination was delayed by two hours following a shortage of question papers. Students who arrived at the centre set up at Mar Baselios English Medium School had to wait close to two hours before enough question papers could be fetched from other centres.
Irked parents staged a protest in front of the centre over the delay. “The authorities have handled the examination in such a reckless manner,” said a parent from Thamarassery. The situation was brought under control after the intervention of the police.
A delay was also reported at Sree Narayana Public School at Channanikkadu in Kottayam. The school’s gate remained closed well past the scheduled opening time of 1.50pm, irking the parents who alleged that the students lost their ‘cooling off’ time.
Even when the gate was opened at 2pm, students were ushered to the examination hall without conducting the biometric registration, the parents alleged. Some have demanded a re-test for their wards who appeared for the examination at the centre.
Exam figures
Registered: 1,32,100
Appeared: 1,29,800
Attendance: 98.2%