Centre fails to ensure safety of NEET candidates amid pandemic

Kolkata: With the exam center authorities failing to maintain specific time slots for allowing candidates into the hall in a phased manner, as instructed by the National Testing Agency (NTA), social distancing norms to check the spread of Covid have gone for a toss in many of the NEET exam centers in Bengal on Sunday with the medical aspirants spotted jostling against each other while being in the queues to enter the exam halls.

Many of the guardians have complained that the hasty decision and lack of proper planning of the Centre have put many candidates in jeopardy. Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had repeatedly written to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to postpone the exam considering the high number of infected patients per day.

Even a team of doctors from the city under the leadership of Dr A.K Maity, an expert in the field of medical education also requested the Centre to find out an alternative path so that a large crowd can be avoided. The team had proposed

to the Modi government to conduct online exams for this year only.

In many centers the students have complained that no time slots were maintained at the time of the arrival of candidates. As per norms, the students are supposed to be allowed into the hall in phased manner so that social distancing can be maintained. Students were asked to come in various slots starting from 11 am till 1.30 pm, half an hour before the scheduled start of the examination.

The exam continued till 5 pm. The standard guideline said that each slot would have 20 minutes. But many centers asked the candidates to stand in a long queue flouting the instruction of the NTA.

Brajogopal Bishnu, the father of a candidate who appeared the exam from Indira Gandhi memorial School in Barasat said: "No time slot was maintained at the centre" while Supriyo Sanfui, a candidate appeared from the same school said: "The center authorities did not allow candidates a moment after 1.30."

Ashok Adhikari, a guardian whose candidate appeared the exam from Midnapore also said that no time slots were followed.

Dasharath Roy, another candidate who appeared from Adamas University on Barasat-Barrackpore road said: "Physics paper was comparatively

difficult while Biology and Chemistry were easier. There was a change in the question pattern."

It may be mentioned here that around 77,061 candidates were supposed to appear in the NEET from Bengal but the exact figure is yet to be divulged. There were a total 189 centers falling under 9 zones across the state.