After lakhs of students across India sat for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2026 on Sunday, parents and candidates from Pune raised concerns about procedural delays at several exam centres in the city that they say cost students precious time during the three-hour paper.
The examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), was held on May 3 in a single shift from 2 pm to 5 pm, with entry to centres closing at 1:30 pm. While the NTA had put in place a comprehensive security framework, including mandatory frisking using high-sensitivity metal detectors and Aadhaar-based biometric authentication to prevent impersonation, parents allege that basic administrative tasks such as filling OMR sheets, pasting photographs on attendance sheets, and obtaining signatures were carried out after the exam had already begun at 2 pm, leaving students with less time to attempt questions.
30 minutes were lost
Dr Navnath Chorge, whose daughter appeared at DY Patil Arts, Science and Commerce College in Pimpri, said the 30-minute window between gate closure at 1:30 pm and the paper’s start at 2 pm, which is typically used to complete pre-exam formalities, was not utilised for clerical work.
“We can understand that the question paper must be given on time at 2 pm, but till then, from the gate closing time, at least the OMR and attendance should have been filled with essential details and signatures. But all this started after 2 pm, and around 25-30 minutes were lost in this,” he told The Indian Express.
Chorge also flagged logistical lapses, saying, “There were limited scissors shared between classrooms to cut open the plastic wrapping on question paper sets.” He added, “Candidates were asked to paste their photographs on the attendance sheet themselves,” a task that is ideally handled by the invigilator.
He also raised concerns about the absence of wall clocks in the exam hall. “Time management is the most crucial task to cover the paper, but wrist watches are not allowed during the exam, and in my daughter’s exam hall, there was no wall clock. So time management became a challenge, and it is difficult to ask an invigilator often about remaining time,” he said.
Chorge stressed that the stakes are extremely high given the competition. “Sometimes over 1,000 candidates share the same rank. A well-scored exam can get you into a government medical college where fees are just over Rs 1 lakh, while private college fees are around Rs 20 lakh,” he said.
Missed 15 questions
Dr Sagar Mande, whose daughter Ananya appeared at Poona College in Dhobi Ghat, Camp area, said the delay in filling the details at her centre was around 15 minutes, and that no extra time was granted after 5:00 pm to compensate. “She couldn’t cover the entire question paper. She missed 15 questions, which she was able to solve, due to the delay,” he said.
Mande called on the NTA to improve invigilator training, pointing out that the experience varied sharply across centres. “At some centres in the city, the process was extremely smooth, all formalities done before 2 pm, and candidates could complete their exam paper. NTA should make sure they train the invigilators well at all centres. I demand that this mismanagement should not happen in the future and put hardworking students’ efforts at stake,” he added.
Repeated interruptions
Anil Dongare, a software engineer whose daughter Divya appeared at PM Shri Kendriya Vidyalaya in Lullanagar, said the problem at their centre was repeated interruptions by invigilators visiting for separate tasks during the exam itself.
“The main issue was the repeated disturbance by invigilators who came for the attendance filling work. It disturbed the focus of students, and they panicked and made mistakes,” he said, adding that Divya had been preparing for two years. “Such mismanagement can cost dearly as there is cut-throat competition in the medical field.”
Divya explained, “The invigilator started distributing the OMR sheet and question paper from 2 pm onwards. Then it took time to bubble the details on the OMR. Also, supervisors visited separately for thumb impression, signature, and photo pasting, which took a lot of time and could have been done in one go.”
She said she missed 17 physics questions as a result. “I feel that the attendance and OMR sheet filing work could have been given earlier so that time could have been saved,” she added.
Just 1 minute per question
Harshala Munde, whose son appeared at Abasaheb Garware College, said, “There are a total of 180 questions to be solved in 180 minutes, so only one minute per question. At the Garware exam centre, the total process of filling the OMR and attendance took 15 minutes, and students were asked to write 1.50 pm as the time for filling in the details on their OMR. Also, the supervisors interrupted to take photographs, which hampers focus. In all, my son missed 30 chemistry questions due to this delay.”
NEET response
Speaking to The Indian Express, Abhishek Singh, Director General, NTA, said, “We have a complete record of the CCTV footage, and what has been done is a standard practice. So if any student has a complaint, they can always write to us about their grievance. We verify every such complaint across the centres, go by the observers’ and invigilators’ reports, and have complete evidence with regard to what is there. Two signatures are taken, at the beginning and end of the exam. Biometrics and all are done much before.”
Candidates, parents, and stakeholders are advised to await further updates regarding the revised schedule. 
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