Synopsis

The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the NEET-UG re-examination on Sunday for 22.7 lakh candidates at 5,440 centres in India and 14 overseas centres, describing it as a smooth and glitch-free exercise completed just 37 days after the original exam was cancelled over question paper leak allegations.

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NEET re-test

New Delhi: A glitch-free NEET-UG re-examination was conducted on Sunday, with 22.7 lakh students appearing for the medical entrance examination across 5,440 centres in India and 14 centres abroad.

Around seven lakh officials, including police personnel, observers and examination staff, were mobilised across the country to conduct the re-examination "in a record 37 days", the National Testing Agency (NTA) said, describing it as a "whole-of-government effort".

The agency said that, in keeping with its "student-first" approach, extensive arrangements were made for all candidates. This included special planning for over 10,000 Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and 81 candidates with medical conditions, among them a child who had been seriously injured in a road accident and another undergoing chemotherapy.

The exam, originally held on May 3, was cancelled and rescheduled amid allegations of question paper leaks involving translators working for the NTA. Having overhauled and strengthened the question paper-setting and translation mechanisms, the NTA on Sunday expressed its gratitude to experts from academic institutions across the country who volunteered their time to help prepare multiple sets of question papers administered in 13 languages, including Hindi and English.

Rounds of high-level reviews and close coordination with multiple government departments preceded the examination on Sunday. High-level meetings by the cabinet secretary, home secretary, state chief secretaries and the Union education minister were held ahead of the examination to review every step of the process.

A nationwide mock drill was also conducted on June 20 to verify all systems, including jammers, CCTV networks, frisking arrangements and biometric verification, while coordinators verified the examination material stored in custodian banks and confirmed its readiness for the examination.

"Command and control centres for CCTV monitoring were established at the national level - at NTA and Ministry of Education - at 34 Centrally Funded Institutions of the Department of Higher Education, in every state, and at district collectorates. The conduct of the examination drew on the support of the CAPF, Ministry of External Affairs, Department of Posts, Indian Air Force, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, NIC, MeitY, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Education, and our banking partners - SBI, Canara Bank, PNB and UCO Bank, alongside state governments and many other stakeholders," the NTA said, terming it a "Team Bharat" effort.

The entrance examination involved extensive security arrangements and logistics, including 95,000 exam rooms with two invigilators each, 38,560 CCTV cameras, 51,311 jammers, 38,795 frisking personnel and 48,448 staff for biometric verification. Biometric manpower was doubled and supported with face authentication.

A Centre Systems Officer was deployed at each of the 5,440 centres to monitor CCTV feeds and resolve any technical issues on the spot. The NTA further deployed 6,700 observers at examination centres, supported by more than 100 virtual observers monitoring live CCTV footage centrally, along with AI-based surveillance. On average, around 40 to 50 security personnel were deployed at each examination centre. In addition, bank officials were stationed at over 1,500 branches holding confidential material, while the Department of Posts coordinated with its teams for the collection of OMR sheets from around 700 collection centres across the country.