‘Security was tighter this time’: NEET-UG re-exam students recall layers of checks, strict frisking

The re-exam was conducted after the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body responsible for conducting NEET, cancelled the examination held on May 3 following allegations of a paper leak.

By the time the re-examination began at 2:15 pm on Sunday, across 5,440 centres in India and 14 centres abroad, candidates had already navigated biometric verification, face authentication, frisking checkpoints, CCTV surveillance and layers of police security. More than seven lakh personnel — from district officials and invigilators to police officers and central security forces — had been mobilised in what the NTA later described as a “Team Bharat” effort.

Outside examination centres in Delhi, however, the day unfolded under immense stress and anxiety.

At B R Ambedkar School of Specialised Excellence in South Delhi’s Kalkaji, Pradeep Kumar, a scrap dealer from Burari, waited patiently under a tent erected for parents at the centre. “It is her first attempt,” he said of his daughter, Aditi. “There are no expectations. Let her understand the exam first. If she wants to try again next year, we’ll see.”

Nearby, Manoj Sharma, a carpenter originally from Bihar who now works in Rohini, praised the arrangements made for parents. “The cooling centres are such a relief,” he said. “Last time, at the centre in Gurgaon, there was nothing like this.”

Across Delhi, schools hosting the examination had arranged shaded waiting areas, drinking water, coolers, tea and first-aid facilities for parents.

At another centre, Harsh, a candidate from Narela appearing for his second attempt at NEET, arrived carrying the wrong admit card. Security personnel initially allowed him inside and assured him he could obtain a fresh printout at the centre. Invigilators later refused permission, and he was asked to leave.

For candidates who had spent months preparing for the difficult exam, such moments were devastating. Inside the NEET centres, candidates encountered heightened security arrangements unlike anything many had experienced before.

“Earlier, religious threads on our wrists were allowed,” said 18-year-old Tulsi, a first-time candidate from Dwarka. “This time they made us remove everything. They even asked me to take off my hairband.”

Several candidates described the security checks as significantly stricter than those in place during the now-cancelled May 3 examination. Inside a government school in Dwarka Sector 6, candidates underwent multiple rounds of document verification, biometric authentication and frisking before being allowed to enter the examination halls.

“They checked my documents twice and frisked me too,” said Shilpa, a Delhi University student appearing for her second attempt at NEET. “The security was tighter this time.”

Complaints about the conduct of the examination were rare even though some frustrations remained.

At one centre, Anu, a UPSC aspirant from Aligarh accompanying her younger sister Shivani, who was writing the exam for the fourth time, questioned why candidates were made to stand outdoors during portions of the verification process.

“Why are the children being made to stand in the sun before one of the toughest examinations of their lives?” she said.

By late afternoon, the mood outside the centres began to shift. At CM Shri School and PM Shri School in Dwarka Sector 5, barricades lined the road as hundreds of parents gathered outside the gates, fanning themselves in the unforgiving heat while waiting for the 5:15-pm bell.

As soon as the gates of the centre opened, Shalini, an aspirant from Southwest Delhi’s Najafgarh, rushed straight towards her mother. “The paper was better than I expected,” she said, while adding that the Physics section, however, had been easier in the original examination.

Several candidates echoed a similar view. “Physics section was a little lengthy,” said Tulsi. “Otherwise, the paper was okay.”