A NEET-UG aspirant from Nagpur was left in distress after his admit card showed an examination centre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, despite him selecting Nagpur as his preferred test city.
The issue surfaced just a day before the medical entrance examination scheduled for June 21, leaving the student and his family uncertain about whether he would be able to appear for the test.
The student had earlier been allotted a centre at Saraswati Vidyalaya in Nagpur for the original NEET examination. However, after the exam was rescheduled following the paper leak controversy, the student downloaded his revised admit card and found that his centre had been changed to Abu Dhabi Indian School in the UAE.
According to the family, Nagpur was the student’s first preference while filling the application form, followed by Wardha and Bhandara.
The family said they were shocked to see an overseas centre mentioned on the admit card. “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,” said the student’s father, Mohammad Talib.
The family approached the National Testing Agency (NTA) helpline and lodged a complaint. They claimed that the agency acknowledged the error and assured them that a revised admit card would be issued after verification.
Former Maharashtra Education Minister Dr Anees Ahmed criticised the incident, calling it a major lapse by the examination authority. He urged the NTA to immediately correct the error and allot the student a centre in Nagpur or a nearby city.
The incident comes amid continued scrutiny over the NTA’s handling of major examinations, including concerns related to examination security and administration.
Meanwhile, the NTA has announced extensive arrangements for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, scheduled to be held on June 21.
The agency said confidential examination material is being transported under strict security measures through GPS-enabled vehicles accompanied by police personnel. Examination centres have also been equipped with CCTV surveillance, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication and real-time monitoring systems.
More than two lakh personnel, including city coordinators, observers, centre superintendents, invigilators, district officials and police personnel, have been deployed for the examination.
The NTA has advised candidates to report to centres between 11 am and 1:30 pm, with entry gates closing at 1:30 pm.
The examination will be conducted in pen-and-paper mode from 2 pm to 5:15 pm across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad. More than 22.79 lakh candidates are expected to appear for NEET-UG 2026.
(With inputs from PTI)
