More than a month after the NEET-UG was cancelled following a paper leak, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has geared up to conduct the re-test on Sunday, with the Indian Air Force (IAF) for the first time delivering question papers to 18 zones across the country. The government has deployed over two lakh personnel for the smooth conduct of the examination, which will be taken by 22.79 lakh candidates.
As part of preventive measures ahead of the examination, a nationwide mock drill was conducted on the eve of the test to verify all systems, including jammers, CCTV cameras, frisking arrangements and biometric verification. Coordinators have also verified the examination material stored in custodian banks and confirmed its availability for the examination.
The cancellation of the original examination had triggered a major controversy, with reports of more than 10 students dying by suicide in the aftermath. The issue has provided ammunition to the Opposition and the newly launched Cockroach Janata Party, both of which have demanded the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Earlier this month, senior officials of the NTA and the Education Ministry were summoned by a parliamentary panel to review preparations for the re-examination and discuss measures to prevent future paper leaks.
The re-examination will be held across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, with 674 city coordinators overseeing city-level operations and 6,669 observers deployed for independent oversight at examination centres.
Extensive manpower has been mobilised for examination-day duties. Each of the more than 95,000 examination rooms will have two invigilators, while every centre will be staffed with more than 10 additional examination functionaries.
Candidate verification has been strengthened with 38,795 frisking personnel and 48,448 personnel for biometric verification. Biometric manpower has been doubled and will be supported by face authentication to ensure thorough verification while minimising queues at centres.
A centre systems officer has been deployed at each of the 5,440 examination centres to monitor CCTV feeds and resolve technical issues on the spot.
On average, 40 to 50 security personnel have been deployed at each examination centre. Bank officials have been stationed at around 1,500 bank branches holding confidential material, while the Department of Posts will coordinate collection of OMR sheets at around 700 collection centres across the country.
Review meetings have been held with Chief Secretaries and senior officials of all states, and districts have confirmed readiness of examination centres.
District administrations, police forces and escort teams have also been deployed for the secure transportation of confidential examination material.
The NTA said it had put in place a multi-layered security framework to ensure a fair and transparent examination. Measures include end-to-end secure handling of confidential material under sealed protocols, GPS-enabled vehicles with police escorts, and CCTV surveillance with feeds linked to centralised control rooms.
Mandatory frisking through high-sensitivity metal detectors will be carried out before entry, backed by strengthened manpower and equipment at every centre. Real-time monitoring through centralised control systems will also be in place.
According to an NTA advisory, candidates whose biometric verification cannot be completed due to technical glitches, poor fingerprint quality, UIDAI connectivity issues or physical inability will not be denied entry to the examination hall.
Such candidates will be required to sign a written undertaking, the format of which will be available with the centre superintendent or observer. They will then be allowed to take the examination, while manual identity verification will be carried out using valid documents.
Candidates are allowed to carry a transparent water bottle. Diabetic candidates may carry sugar tablets and fruits such as bananas, apples and oranges, along with a transparent water bottle.
Mobile phones, smartwatches, Bluetooth devices, calculators, wallets, jewellery, metallic accessories and food packets are not permitted inside the examination hall.
