Nagpur (ANI): A NEET aspirant from Nagpur has been allotted an examination centre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, despite opting for Nagpur as his preferred test city. The development comes just a day ahead of the medical entrance examination scheduled for June 21, leaving the candidate and his family in a state of uncertainty.
The student, had earlier been assigned a centre at Saraswati Vidyalaya in Nagpur for the original NEET examination. However, after the exam was rescheduled following the paper leak controversy, he downloaded his new admit card only to discover that his examination centre had been shifted to the Abu Dhabi Indian School in the UAE.
According to the family, the student had opted for Nagpur as his first choice while filling out the application form, followed by Wardha and Bhandara.
They were stunned to find 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 has lodged a complaint with the NTA helpline, which reportedly acknowledged the mistake 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 serious lapse by the testing agency and urging NTA to immediately rectify the error by allotting the student a centre in Nagpur or a nearby city. The episode has raised fresh concerns over the functioning of the NTA amid ongoing scrutiny of examination management issues.
Meanwhile, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has put in place extensive security and logistical arrangements for the smooth and transparent conduct of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.
According to the NTA, a comprehensive security framework has been implemented to ensure the integrity of the examination process.
Confidential examination materials are being transported under strict security protocols through GPS-enabled vehicles accompanied by police escorts. CCTV surveillance, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication and real-time monitoring systems have also been deployed at examination centres.
More than two lakh personnel, including city coordinators, observers, centre superintendents, invigilators, district administration officials and police personnel, have been mobilised for the conduct of the examination.
The NTA has advised candidates to reach their examination centres between 11 am and 1:30 pm, noting that entry gates will close 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 the test on June 21.
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This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.