THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:The state government will take up with the Centre the alleged harassment faced by NEET examination candidates due to the authorities’ strict imposition of the dress code, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly on Tuesday.
The CM made the statement in reply to a submission by Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala who said the dress code imposed by CBSE had put the candidates to a lot of distress.
Chennithala’s submission came in the wake of reports a female candidate in Kannur was asked to remove her innerwear and another candidate was forced to remove the metal buttons on her jeans in tune with the dress code in the NEET examination on Sunday. Many aspirants were also asked to cut their full-sleeve dresses to half sleeves and were forced to remove their headscarves.
“The imposition of the dress code has caused immense mental agony to students,” Pinarayi said.
“Such actions cannot be justified. The matter will be taken up with the Centre. Considering the seriousness of the incident in Kannur, a woman police officer has been asked to meet the candidates and parents to ascertain the facts.”
Case against school for ill-treating NEET candidate
Kochi: The Kuruppampady police have registered a case against school authorities on charges of ill-treating a candidate who came to appear for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) on Sunday. The police said the case was registered on the basis of a complaint filed by a Kasargod-native student who came to appear for the exam at the Kuruppampady St Mary’s Public School. The case has been registered under Sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 427 and 355 of the IPC. The police said the student filed a complaint stating the authorities cut off the sleeves of his shirt before allowing him to enter the exam centre. “He was also asked to remove the metal button of his jeans. The boy, however, couldn’t write the exam as the authorities rejected his hall ticket stating the picture on it lacked date and the place printed on it was not as per norms,” said a police officer.