The re-examination of NEET UG has been held amid tight security at 5440 centers across the country and abroad. The education ministry breathed a sigh of relief in this exam conducted after the paper leak controversy. Read the detailed report.
NEET UG Re-Exam: The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for admission to Bachelor’s Degree (MBBS/BDS) courses in government and private medical colleges across the country was once again concluded peacefully on Sunday amid tight security arrangements across the country. Amidst the earlier paper leak controversy and the CBI probe, the relief news for the Union Education Ministry and the National Testing Agency (NTA) this time is that no reports of irregularities or malpractices have surfaced anywhere. As soon as this exam is over, more than 22 lakh medical aspirants dream of becoming a doctor is now captured in the OMR sheet and students are now eagerly waiting for the result.
Big change from next year: Exam will be online (CBT)
This year NEET UG exam was conducted through traditional pen-paper and OMR sheet format only. However, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has taken a major policy decision to maintain the transparency of the examinations and prevent incidents like paper leaks in the future. From next year this prestigious exam will be conducted through Computer Based Test (CBT) i.e. online mode.
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Organized at 5,440 exam centers globally
The exam, which was earlier held on May 3, had to be canceled due to the paper leak controversy, which is still being investigated by the CBI. In that, NTA has put all its efforts to make this re-examination successful. According to the agency, the exam was conducted simultaneously at 5,440 centers in 551 cities across the country and 14 important cities abroad.
Help taken by Air Force and Indian Postal Department
Apart from maintaining the confidentiality of the question papers, an unprecedented security protocol was also implemented in the transportation of OMR sheets after the examination this time. Special assistance from the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Postal Department has been taken to deliver the OMR sheets to a secure location as well as the question papers.
Cyber commandos and tight security arrangements
NTA has put in place an ironclad security to keep a check on exam mafias, rumors and misleading propaganda spread on social media. Central security forces (Paramilitary Forces) were deployed at each center along with the local police. Besides, high-tech ‘cyber commandos’ were also kept active in every major city to check digital malpractices.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan watched from the control room
Along with central agencies, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan himself also kept a close eye on this examination held in 13 Indian languages including Hindi and English. During the examination, he visited the specially constructed central control room at the NTA headquarters and monitored the examination process through CCTV live feed and instructed the teams deployed there to be alert.
Concession for students: 15 minutes extra time
A welcome decision was taken in the interest of students in the NEET UG examination this year. Usually 3 hours are allotted for the exam, which includes solving the questions as well as paper signature-coining and verification process. But this time NTA gave 15 minutes extra time to avoid wasting students’ time due to administrative paper work. The students were very happy with this decision. The exam started at 2:00 PM and ended at 5:15 PM.
Security statistics and hi-tech systems
Three-Tier Verification: Students were admitted to the classrooms only after three levels of checks – biometric verification, physical frisking (inspection) and intensive document verification.
Over 1.38 lakh CCTV cameras: At least one camera was installed in each exam classroom. The live feed of all these cameras was linked to NTA’s central room, ministry and state level control rooms.
53,311 high-capacity jammers: A record-breaking 53,311 high-power jammers were installed across the country to prevent theft of any kind of electronic gadgets, Bluetooth or micro-devices.
PM Narendra Modi spent 45 minutes at the airport for students!
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sensitivity and respect towards students also became a topic of discussion during this exam. PM Modi landed at Delhi airport at 1:15 pm on Sunday after completing International Yoga Day programs in Kolkata. As per the protocol, he had to go directly to his residence from there.
But, this was the time when lakhs of students were heading to their respective exam centres. If the PM’s convoy left the airport, there was every possibility of a traffic jam due to the VVIP protocol, which would have made the students late at the exam centre. To avoid this inconvenience to the students, PM Modi himself took a big decision and stayed inside the Delhi airport for 45 minutes. At 2:00 PM when the examination started at all the centers and the roads were cleared, the Prime Minister left the airport.
