A Neet aspirant from Nagpur in the Indian state of Maharashtra has been allotted an examination centre in Abu Dhabi. The student found out about his exam centre only a couple of days before the medical entrance examination rescheduled for June 21, leaving the candidate and his family in a state of uncertainty.
The student was assigned a centre at Saraswati Vidyalaya in Nagpur for the original Neet examination on May 3, which was cancelled over paper leak allegations. After the exam was rescheduled, he downloaded his new admit card only to discover that his examination centre had been shifted to the Abu Dhabi Indian School in UAE.
According to the family, the student had opted for Nagpur as his first choice while filling out the application form, followed by Wardha and Bhandara.
They were stunned to find an overseas centre mentioned on the admit card.
His father, Mohammad Talib, told ANI, “After the admit card was downloaded at 4 pm yesterday, we found the centre mentioned to be a school in Abu Dhabi. We were really shocked as we had not given anything as such in our options. We dialled up the helpline number. They told us to send them a mail. When we sent a mail, we received a call that we will be issued a fresh admit card by 4pm on Saturday.”
“We had given 3 districts as options but we now demand that Nagpur be given us as the Centre because he is shocked. There is no time to go to any other district. He cried a lot yesterday and did not even want to write the exam. But his mother tried to convince him. If he is convinced, he will appear for the exam,” he said.
“We are completely unable to send our child abroad for the exam. He does not even have a passport, and there is no time left to make travel arrangements,” added the student’s father.
The family has lodged a complaint with the NTA helpline, which reportedly acknowledged the mistake and assured them that a revised admit card would be issued after verification.
NTA says candidate changed city
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has issued a response saying that the location preference was set to Abu Dhabi by the candidate’s own registered login.
“NTA’s web-activity records indicate that the city change in this case was made through the candidate’s own registered login during the open correction window, with a consistent single-user access pattern,” they said.
“Despite the Abu Dhabi centre being chosen by the candidate, the NTA received an informal request on the evening of June 19 (just 48 hours before the exam) to change the centre to Nagpur. NTA personnel immediately initiated the change and contacted the candidate’s father on 19th evening itself to help them complete the formal process,” they added.
NTA said they had observed that first the centre was changed to Abu Dhabi using candidate’s credentials and later previewed twice. “Despite that NTA has accorded to aspirant’s request and the change of centre was actioned…”
After the alleged paper leak, NTA has put in place extensive security and logistical arrangements for the smooth and transparent conduct of the Neet-UG 2026 re-examination.
According to the NTA, a comprehensive security framework has been implemented to ensure the integrity of the examination process. Confidential examination materials are being transported under strict security protocols through GPS-enabled vehicles accompanied by police escorts. CCTV surveillance, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication and real-time monitoring systems have also been deployed at examination centres.
More than two lakh personnel, including city coordinators, observers, centre superintendents, invigilators, district administration officials and police personnel, have been mobilised for the conduct of the examination.
© Khaleej Times
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