Kerala NEET Incident: NTA forms fact-finding committee to visit Kollam

NEW DELHI : The National Testing Agency (NTA) has constituted a fact-finding committee to ascertain the facts in the alleged incident where a National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2022 girl candidate was asked to remove her brassiere at an examination centre in Kollam district in Kerala. A row erupted after a father of a 17-year-old girl in Kerala alleged that his daughter and other girls who appeared for NEET UG 2022 exam held on July 17, were asked to remove undergarments to be allowed to write the exam.

“It has been brought to the notice of the Ministry of Education through various media reports that an incident allegedly happened in one of the Centre’s of NEET UG 2022 near Kollam district in Kerala. NTA has already issued a clarification in this regard,” said the Ministry of Education.

Also Read | CBI busts NEET UG cheating racket; 8 people, including mastermind, arrested

In view of the above, the Ministry of Education has asked the National Testing Agency to ascertain all the facts about the incident on the spot from stakeholders present at the Centre at that time, the statement added.

V Muraleedharan, MOS, Ministry of External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs and other public representatives from Kerala have met the Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan today, the statement further said.

NTA denied the claims of the girl and said that it has “not received any complaint in this regard”. The NTA in response to the media reports said that it sought immediate comments from the Centre Superintendent and the Independent Observer as well as the City Coordinator, Kollam district.

Also Read | NEET UG 2022: Students miss exam after English, Hindi paper mix up at Rajasthan exam centre

Kerala higher education minister , R Bindu wrote a letter on Monday to the Union Education Minister requesting to take action against the friskers. Bindu condemned the incident by calling it a violation of human rights and irresponsibility from the side of NTA.

The incident happened at Marthoma Institute of Information Technology, Ayur, Kollam on July 17, when the NEET UG 2022 exam was held across the country. Meanwhile, tension prevailed at Ayur on Tuesday as protest marches organised by various student outfits towards a private educational institute where the incident happened turned violent.