SHILLONG, MAY 9: The state government has requested the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct reexamination of the National Eligibility cum Entrance (NEET), following alleged anomalies recent examination held on May 5.
“I have personally spoken to the chairman of the NTA and requested to conduct retest if possible,” Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma told reporters after a meeting held with a joint delegation of the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU) and Jaintia Students’ Union (JSU) on Thursday.
“The chairman of the NTA had informed me that they are still assessing the ground reality on what had actually happened during the exams. However they have not yet communicated to me,” he added.
The minister said that the NTA has sought a report from the centre. “Therefore, we are waiting for the decision to be taken by the NTA in this regard,” he added.
Stating that the incident, if it has happened,it is a matter of concern, Rakkam said, “Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma had also taken up the matter with the concerned authority in Delhi.”
He informed that the health department is also taking up the matter with the central agency. “Principal Secretary in-charge Health Sampath Kuman is also intouch with NTA,” he added.
The delegation along with affected students have urged the education minister to intervene to ensure re-examination is conducted for NEET in West Jaintia Hills and Ri Bhoi districts.
The KSU and JSU have alleged grave discrepancies during the NEET examination held in Jowai on May 5. The alleged mismanagement of the examination was the distribution of two sets of question papers labeled as MNOP and QRST. This has led to significant distress among over 400 candidates, as they were initially unsure which set to attempt
“This situation is deeply concerning as students, through no fault of their own, have been subjected to the consequences of mismanagement by untrained invigilators. The provision of multiple sets of question papers without adequate guidance and the failure to allocate extra time to compensate for the time lost after the clarification of the correct set exacerbates the issue,” the two organizations said.