CHENNAI: National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), went off relatively smoothly in the city on Sunday. According to a release from the agency, around 23,000 medical aspirants took the countrywide test at 31 centres here.
The exam has been a contentious issue in the State following the suicide of Anitha, who was unable to crack it in 2017. Incidents of stringent frisking flared tempers when the test was conducted last year. However, the smooth exam process this year, suggests candidates and parents are becoming accustomed to the exam.
In NEET centres that Express visited, almost all candidates followed the dress code and faced no problems entering the exam halls. “The students have got used to exam. Earlier, there was confusion, but now students are conforming to the norms and are not facing any problem,” said the father of a candidate attempting the test at Perumbakkam.
Priya is a good example of how students’ mentality had changed about the dress code in place for the exam. “My mother cut my kurti’s sleeves on the way to the centre because I forgot to go to the tailor and get it altered,” she said.
NTA officials in the centres also said there were instructions to go easy on frisking and implementation of dress code. “Since it became a huge problem last year, we have been asked to be considerate and not enforce it strictly,” said an official at a centre at Semmenchery, claiming most candidates had conformed to the dress code.
While candidates were allowed to enter the exam halls by noon, most candidates ended up coming only around 1:30 pm, causing long lines in centres. However, only a few candidates did not bring the required documents.
“We are allowing parents to bring the required documents by 1:30 pm and passing them on to students,” said a senior NTA official, claiming the intention is not to punish the latecomers, but only to prevent them from panicking.