PANAJI
Over 2,000 Goan students on Sunday answered the NEET exam, an all-India competitive exam, scores of which are counted for admission to medical schools across India.
Students in Goa answered the exam at 15 centres across the State even as authorities ensured staggered entry due to Covid-19 protocols.
The 3-hour paper started at 2 pm but entry to exam halls for the students was staggered from 11 am to 1.30 am and only 12 students were accommodated in each examination hall.
At some centres, aspirant students got delayed due to rains beyond the 1.30 pm deadline for entry to exam halls but the authorities accommodated those reaching the centers up to 1.40 pm as a concession.
Interestingly, there was no exam centre in the capital city of Panaji. The centre nearest to the capital was at Sunshine School at Bainguinim.
Sources said nearly 95 per cent of the 2,483 students registered in Goa answered the NEET exam on Sunday at these 15 centres.
The national-level medical entrance exam was conducted nationwide on Sunday under the aegis of the National Testing Agency (NTA).
NEET-UG after much controversies and multiple deferments was finally conducted by NTA in physical pen and paper mode.
The exam is conducted to shortlist candidates for admission to MBBS/ BDS/ BAMS/ BSMS/ BUMS/ BHMS and other undergraduate medical courses in medical colleges all over India.
Earlier, the NTA received approval from the Supreme Court of India to conduct it as per schedule. The court rejected a plea filed by some students saying NEET was clashing with other exams.
“Over 16 lakh students take NEET. It can't be deferred on a plea of few students,” the top court said in the hearing.
For safe conduct of the exam amid Covid-19, the NTA had taken precautions. The NEET admit card included Covid-related guidelines students need to follow and other safety measures introduced by the agency.
Before entering the exam hall, those students who did not have masks were provided with N95 masks and were allowed to bring hand sanitizer bottles.
Mandatory frisking and dress code are among measures taken by the agency to ensure no student can adopt any unfair means (UFM) to clear the highly competitive exam.
Reports of an alleged NEET paper leak had surfaced on social media, leading to several campaigns a day before the entrance exam. However, neither the NTA nor the Education Ministry made any comment on it.
