By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 8: The state government on Wednesday stated that the irregularities surrounding the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) in the state should not have happened.
“I am sure the Education department will take a call on this immediately, but certainly the lapse should not have happened,” said Cabinet Minister and government spokesperson, Paul Lyngdoh. According to Lyngdoh the lapse has caused a lot of “psychological and undue mental pressure on the candidates.”
The Khasi Students’ Union and the Jaintia Students’ Union have asked the National Testing Agency (NTA) to re-conduct NEET following alleged irregularities surrounding the test conducted in Jowai, West Jaintia Hills.
Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma responded to the demand by assuring that the matter has been taken up with the central agency.
The demand to conduct NEET again arose after allegations of “grave discrepancies” during Sunday’s examination, as highlighted in a joint letter the two students’ bodies submitted to Education Minister Rakkam A Sangma earlier in the day.
The letter underscored the confusion from the distribution of two sets of question papers labelled MNOP and QRST. The students’ bodies said the confusion caused distress in more than 400 candidates as they were initially unsure about which set to attempt.
It was later clarified that the QRST set contained genuine questions, leaving the students who had started the MNOP set by then feeling anxious and disadvantaged.
Despite efforts by some candidates to seek clarification from the exam authorities, the students’ bodies claimed that their attempts were in vain, aggravating the situation.
Additionally, the letter revealed that there were delays in submission of admit cards by many candidates until late in the evening, resulting in inconvenience and a last-minute rush. The students from remote villages are yet to submit their admit cards, the letter said.