The Tisk English Medium School in Kannur, under fire for taking the ‘dress code’ too far during the NEET exam on Sunday, has suspended four women teachers for the fiasco. The teachers were reportedly suspended for a month for forcing a student to remove her bra before going into the exam hall, because the metal detector beeped because of the hooks in her bra.
This move comes a day after the principal of the school tried to deny that any such incident took place. “We have clear instructions that if a metal detector beeps, no one should be allowed inside. The incident of students being asked to remove their innerwear hasn't taken place. I don't know where this is coming from. I have called a meeting with those involved in the frisking arrangements at the school,” Jalaluddin reportedly said.
18-year-old Anitha*, a native of Kerala's Kannur district, spoke to TNM after the insensitive body search and diktat of the examiners about how this affected her confidence ahead of the exam.
"When I walked through the metal detector, it beeped. I told them that it was my bra-strap that had a metal hook on it, but they refused to let me in. They insisted that I remove it. Although I argued with them that the rules does not mention anything about innerwear, they refused to hear my pleas. Then I went to one side of the room, removed my bra and handed it over to my mother who was standing outside the gate. As I entered the exam hall to write the test, I had little confidence left in me," Anitha said.
According to the NEET exam rules, ‘metal objects’ are not allowed inside the examination hall. But to disallow a student to wear a bra on that basis has been questioned by several people. Anitha’s mother, a teacher by profession, asked, “How can they ask an 18-year-old girl to remove her bra just ahead of appearing for a test? What common sense is this?”