Shraddha* had almost given up hope of writing the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test this year. On September 12, a day before the entrance examination, her entire family tested positive for COVID. A month later, on Monday, the Supreme Court had ordered the National Testing Agency to conduct a phase II of the examination on October 14, exclusively for students who missed NEET who were COVID positive or stuck in containment zones on September 13.

The ruling brings some relief to Shraddha, amid a plethora of confusion. She has lost count of the number of emails that she wrote to the NTA, requesting a second chance. "Even though they sought my details, there was no word of confirmation," she says. A two day notice period, she says, is quite short a time to prepare for this important a competitive examination. However, she is set to give it a shot.  

"I was informed by the NTA via email that I will get my admit card on Tuesday. Apart from that, they ensured that my exam centre will be the previous one," she says. She hadn't yet received the admit card at the time of writing this story. But as soon as she heard of the Supreme Court ruling, she packed her bags and booked her tickets to go to her exam centre, which is 250 kilometres away from her home in Gujarat.

Another student Reema* is also in a situation similar to Shraddha's. She missed the examination after contracting COVID and did not expect the SC to give a nod to NEET phase II. "However, the instructions are quite unclear. Even though I have sent an email to the NTA, I'm yet to hear back from them," she says. "I am stressed. I do not know how well prepared I am to write this exam. But the court's ruling is quite relieving," she adds.