Student in Nagpur, exam centre in Abu Dhabi: How a NEET admit card sparked a row

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued a detailed clarification over the controversy surrounding a Nagpur-based NEET-UG candidate who was allotted an examination centre in Abu Dhabi for the 21 June re-examination, claiming that the overseas location was selected using the student's own login credentials during the correction window.

The issue came to light after Abdullah Mohammad Talib, a medical aspirant from Nagpur, downloaded his revised admit card and found that his examination centre had been allotted at Abu Dhabi Indian School in the United Arab Emirates, triggering concern within his family and sparking a wider political debate over the conduct of the national medical entrance examination.

The student's family expressed distress over the allotment, pointing out that he did not possess a passport and that there was no practical possibility of arranging international travel at such short notice. The family said the candidate had originally appeared for the examination at a centre in Nagpur and had chosen Nagpur, Wardha and Bhandara among his preferred cities.

Responding to the controversy, the NTA said it conducted a detailed review of the candidate's application history and online activity. According to the agency, records showed that Abu Dhabi had been manually selected as a preferred examination city through the candidate's account during the correction window opened after the examination was rescheduled.

The agency said the modification was carried out on 21 May and that the IP address used for the change was traced to Nagpur. It further noted that the same IP address was used for several subsequent activities, including downloading the original admit card, updating bank account details, accessing the city intimation slip and downloading the revised admit card.

Investigators also found that the Abu Dhabi examination centre had been viewed more than once before the final submission was completed.

"The web activity reflected a consistent single-user access pattern, indicating that the credentials were used by the candidate himself," the NTA said in its clarification.

The agency also pointed out that neither the candidate nor his family contacted the NTA regarding the issue until 20 June, a day before the scheduled re-examination.

Despite its findings, the NTA said it acted immediately to ensure that the student was not disadvantaged. The candidate was reassigned to a medical college examination centre in Nagpur and issued a fresh admit card, allowing him to appear for the test locally.

NTA Director General Abhishek Singh confirmed that the matter had been resolved and that the student would be able to take the examination without having to travel abroad.

The incident nevertheless triggered political reactions, with opposition leaders questioning the functioning of the examination system and citing the episode as another example of the challenges faced by students amid recurring controversies surrounding NEET.

The NTA maintained that this was the only known instance of a candidate being allotted a centre outside India for the re-examination. While its cyber team continues to examine whether any unauthorised access to the account occurred, the agency said the available digital evidence currently points to the use of the candidate's own credentials.

Reiterating its commitment to ensuring that no student is deprived of an opportunity to appear for the examination, the NTA said its immediate priority was to address the grievance and facilitate the candidate's participation in the test.

The clarification comes as authorities implement extensive security arrangements for the NEET re-examination, including enhanced surveillance, GPS-enabled monitoring systems, mock drills and the deployment of central security forces to safeguard the integrity of the examination process.

With IANS inputs