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News18
05-05-2025
- Politics
- News18
NEET-UG 2025: From Janaeu Removal To Biometrics Fail, Top 5 Controversies This Year
Last Updated: The NEET-UG 2025 exam was held under an unprecedented 3-tiered security protocol this year, overseen by a centralised control room set up by the Union Ministry of Education. In what was dubbed one of the most secure and challenging editions yet, the NEET-UG 2025 saw over 20.8 lakh candidates appear at more than 5,400 centres across the country and 14 cities abroad, with incidents ranging from biometric failures and power cuts to cultural controversies and attempted fraud. Despite the National Testing Agency (NTA) assuring smooth conduct, scattered protests and operational lapses marked a troubling undercurrent during Sunday's exam. The NEET-UG examination, which determines admission into undergraduate medical and dental programs in the country, was held under an unprecedented 3-tiered security protocol this year, overseen by a centralised control room set up by the Union Ministry of Education. The move followed last year's controversies involving alleged paper leaks and integrity concerns, prompting a multi-agency crackdown on organised cheating and digital misinformation networks. One of the most charged flashpoints came from Kalaburagi in Karnataka, where candidates from the Brahmin community alleged religious discrimination after being asked to remove their janaeu (sacred thread) before entering the examination hall. The incident sparked a sit-in protest outside the exam centre by parents and community members. Sudhir Patil, whose son Shripad was among those affected, recounted that his son was asked to remove the sacred thread and was not allowed to keep it with him. 'I had to take it outside while he returned to the hall. This happened to many others too," he recalled. Power Cuts in Madhya Pradesh Centres Candidates at several centres in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, were forced to take the crucial exam in candlelight and under emergency lamps due to widespread power outages caused by sudden rain. At Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1, more than 600 students attempted the paper in partial darkness. 'It was hard to read the questions properly. I know I missed a few because of the darkness," student Kinjal Gupta recalled. Emergency bulbs, where arranged, worked only for 10 minutes due to insufficient charge, leading to protests outside the centre once the exam ended. Cheating Scandals Surface in Rajasthan and Odisha In Rajasthan, three individuals were detained by the Special Operations Group (SOG) for allegedly demanding Rs 40 lakh from a candidate's family in exchange for the NEET question paper. According to police, the accused lured families to Gurugram on the pretext of offering leaked papers. The trap was busted just before the exam began. Meanwhile, in Odisha's Bhubaneswar, police arrested four members of an inter-state gang that had allegedly taken money from aspirants by promising them admission into medical colleges, further highlighting the growing menace of exam-related fraud. 'Toughest NEET Ever': Kota's Verdict In Kota, Rajasthan, students emerged from exam centres with mixed emotions, though many agreed on one thing: NEET-UG 2025 was among the toughest editions in memory. Motion Education Coaching Institute CEO Nitin Vijay said, 'NEET-UG in 2025 saw a definite change in philosophy. It is no longer a question of memorising lines from textbooks. The exam called for maturity, clarity of thought." ALLEN Career Institute Director Brajesh Maheshwari echoed the sentiment. Biology and physics questions leaned heavily on Class 11 syllabus, and time management became a major hurdle due to the complex nature of multi-step questions, he said. Aspirant Ayushi from Uttar Pradesh raised concerns about certain questions being 'outside the NCERT syllabus", though subject experts claimed the questions were within conceptual boundaries of the board curriculum. The consensus among coaching centres and students alike is that the cutoff may drop this year owing to the paper's difficulty. Despite the emotional rollercoaster, the exam concluded peacefully across all 73 centres in Kota, where over 32,000 candidates sat for the paper. In an expression of solidarity and encouragement, local teachers and coaching staff showered students with petals and arranged free transport under the 'KotaCares" initiative. This year, the NTA left no stone unturned to ensure NEET-UG's sanctity. Mock drills were conducted a day prior at every centre to test security readiness, including the functionality of mobile jammers, biometric systems, and frisking stations. Question papers were delivered under police escort, and suspicious coaching centres were monitored. To tackle misinformation, especially fake leak claims, the agency acted against 160 Telegram channels and 30 Instagram handles allegedly involved in spreading false content. The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) has been tasked with tracing the admins behind these platforms. top videos View all The measures are part of a broader strategy to redeem public trust in national examinations after multiple scandals rocked exam systems in recent years. Last year, both the UGC-NET and NEET-PG were cancelled due to security breaches. In response, a central panel was formed to review and reform NTA operations. NEET-UG 2025 may well go down as one of the most scrutinised and stress-laden editions in the exam's history. While authorities tout tighter controls and reformist changes in the examination's design, candidates across the board have highlighted deep operational inconsistencies. Stay updated with the latest education! Get real-time updates on board exam results 2025, entrance exams such as JEE Mains, Advanced, NEET, and more. Find out top schools, colleges, courses and more. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : NEET exam NEET UG Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: May 05, 2025, 16:54 IST News education-career NEET-UG 2025: From Janaeu Removal To Biometrics Fail, Top 5 Controversies This Year
Indian Express
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
After KCET row, NEET candidates asked to remove ‘janivara' in Karnataka
Days after students appearing for the Karnataka Common Entrance Test (KCET) were controversially asked to remove janivara (sacred thread), a similar row has erupted in connection with Sunday's National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET). A few candidates taking NEET in the afternoon session were allegedly asked to remove their janivara before entering the exam hall at St Mary's School in Kalaburagi. Soon after the matter came to light, members from various communities, including Brahmin subsects Smarta and Vaishnava, as well as Lingayat and Dalit groups, protested demanding the suspension of the official responsible, stating that janivara, a symbol of spiritual commitment, posed no threat to exam integrity. Sudhir Patil told reporters that his son Sripad Patil returned from the exam centre visibly upset, saying officials had insisted he remove the sacred thread before being allowed into the hall. Acting on his father's advice, Sripad removed the janivara and proceeded to take the exam. Sripad, a resident of Bet Balkunda village in Bidar district's Basavakalyan taluk, had travelled to Kalaburagi for the exam. Speaking to reporters, Sripad expressed frustration, revealing that he had been so anxious after the incident that he mistakenly wrote the wrong registration number on his answer sheet. He also called for a re-examination. Officials clarified that two outsourced staff members, Ganesh and Sharanagouda from the Revanasidda agency, had been tasked with frisking candidates and instructed not to permit any metal objects or threads. They said the staff members did not explicitly ask Sripad to remove his janivara, suggesting the boy may have misunderstood. The Sanatana Yuva Shakti Trust, Akhila Bharat Madhwa Maha Parishat, and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad backed the protest. Kalaburagi South MLA Allamaprabhu Patil visited the protesters and urged the deputy commissioner and police commissioner over the phone to investigate and hold the officials accountable. The district administration has ordered an inquiry, including a review of CCTV footage. As approximately 1.4 lakh students took NEET UG 2025 at 381 centres in Karnataka, logistical challenges also led to controversies, with several candidates noting that approximately 8-10 of the three-hour exam were lost to administrative tasks like thumb impressions, signatures, and Aadhaar verification. A candidate who appeared for the exam at DRDO Complex in Bengaluru 's CV Raman Nagar said, 'The 180-minute duration for 180 questions was already tight with a lengthy paper, but we lost 15-20 minutes to administrative tasks. Signatures and thumb impressions took 2-3 minutes, followed by Aadhaar verification and videorecording of the centre ate up seven-eight minutes—equivalent to seven-eight questions. This led to distraction and interrupted my examination. All this, supposed to be done by 2 pm, started only during the examination.' Another candidate, who took the exam at Kendriya Vidyalaya at the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru, said, 'All the miscellaneous formalities like signatures, writing father's and mother's name among others started after the examination, leading to a time crunch. I almost got an answer wrong because of this distraction.' The two candidates wished to be anonymous. The government to had to issue guidelines for officials to respect cultural practices after a similar controversy erupted in Bidar and Shivamogga during the KCET on April 16. Later the Railway Recruitment Board sought to ban sacred threads and mangalsutras from exam halls but withdrew the decision after it drew flak.
New Indian Express
05-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
NEET candidate asked to remove janivara in Kalaburagi
KALABURAGI: A candidate was allegedly asked to remove his janivara (the sacred thread worn largely by Brahmins) before writing the afternoon session of National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) at St Mary's exam centre here on Sunday. The incident, coming on the back of similar faux pas during the Common Entrance Test just a few days ago, triggered a large-scale protest on the main road in front of the college. Activists from both sub-sects of Brahmins, Smarta and Vaishnava, also Lingayats and Dalits joined the protest. Sudhir Patil, father of the candidate Sripad Patil, said his son came out of the exam centre with tears in his eyes and said officials were insisting on him removing the janivara before allowing him into the exam hall. On Sudhir's advice, Sripad removed the janivara and went to write the test. Sripad is from Bet Balkunda village of Basavakalyan taluk (Bidar district) and came to Kalaburagi to write NEET. The Sanatana Yuva Shakti Trust, Akhila Bharat Madhwa Maha Parishat and ABVP supported the protest.
