Aspirants Across the country show anger against Conduct of NEET PG 2018

From Students not being allowed to undertake exam to not being allowed to take even pens to strict frisking and adherence to dress code, the Day of the NEET-PG exam saw complaints from students across the country

Student complaints that poured in from the states of Delhi Karnataka and Tamil Nadu ranged from a missed exam due to mismanagement at NBE hosted centre sites, strict checking of belongings and dress code, including restrictions on the kinds of shoes worn, and removal of ‘Thalis’of women aspirants for security reasons. The strict check conducted created a panic of sorts among students, with students claiming that they were not allowed to take in pens to write the exam.

The country's capital witnessed an ironic situation, as some of the NEET aspirants missed their exam at the centre located near the Mundka Metro Station, due to mismanaged affairs of the NBE authorities, claimed those who missed the exam.

According to an angry aspirant, the NBE supervisors were not wearing badges to identify themselves outside this centre, and there were no notice boards giving directions to students for entry in accordance with their role numbers. Moreover, one student claimed that the security guard directed them to another exam centre where an MBA exam was being held, causing them delay. This led to 11 off aspirants missing their test at the Mundka center.

According to the student, who missed the exam, the time to enter the hall was up when by the time they found their entry points and the examiners did not allow them to enter, saying that entry timings were over.

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The strict frisking carried out at the National Board of Examination (NBE) conducted National Eligibility Test(NEET), at its various centres, held on Sunday, in cities across the country, has attracted the ire of students, yet again this year.

Last year, complaints had also been registered against the stringent act of frisking, that had created a national uproar among students. This had further lead to authorities assuring the aspirants that precaution would be exercised by sensitizing exam supervisors, on the issue.

The Tamil Nadu Medical Officers Association (TNMOA) condemned the act of women being made to remove the 'thali' , as it had resulted in hurting sentiment.

“We gave a representation last year to the National Board of Examination on the issue. It is sad that this year also the officials hurt the sentiments of the people here. At a few centers, women were allowed to write the exam wearing their " thaalis "after frisking. But at some centers such as the Sun Engineering College in Nagercoil and Sivanthi Adhithanar College in Thiruchendur, the officials did not allow women candidates to wear thali,” Dr Kathirvel, Secretary ,TNMOA told TNIE.

When queried, an official of the National Board of Examination said, “We allowed women to write exam wearing 'thaali' after frisking. But at a few centres, it was not permitted since we received complaints of possible malpractices. It is a competitive exam and so we did not want to take any chance.”

Though many candidates said the paper was easy, the power cuts became a woe at a few centres, which caused a delay in the three-and-a-half-hour exam.

Students at the Tamil Nadu Exam centres said of the 300 questions a few were mathematical queries. “We were not given scribbling pad in our centre. Frisking was too much and we were not allowed to wear socks also. But last year, there was not much frisking,” said an exam entrant at the Nagercoil centre.

A total of 14,780 candidates had registered for the exam from Tamil Nadu, in which 14,321 appeared and 549 were absent, an official from the National Board of Examination added.

The NEET PG Exam drew a mixed response from aspirants in Karnataka. While some defined it a well-balanced paper, others called it tricky.

The paper tested students for both clinical and non-clinical knowledge. Some students said 10% of the questions were difficult, while the remaining ranged between moderate and easy.

A postgraduate candidate called the NEET PG exam a good way to test student capabilities, as it focused on application-based questions rather than rote learning.