NEET re-exam on May 20 for K'taka students who missed due to train delay

Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy appealed to the centre to conduct a fresh exam for students who missed it due to a seven-hour train delay.
NEET re-exam on May 20 for K'taka students who missed due to train delay
NEET re-exam on May 20 for K'taka students who missed due to train delay
Written by:

A total of 365 students from Karnataka will get a chance to appear for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) on May 20 as they missed it on Sunday as the train in which they were travelling from the state's northern districts reached Bengaluru 7 hours late.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) confirmed in a notice that the exam will be held on May 20 from 10 am to 1 pm for students who missed it due to the train delay. 

"Happy to announce that #Karnataka students who missed #NEET exam due to railway delay will get another chance," said Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar on Monday.

Javadekar responded a day after state Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy urged him to hold the test for the students who missed it for no fault of theirs. "Thank you @PrakashJavdekar and @HRDMinistry for considering the request and helping our students," tweeted Kumaraswamy.

The students, who travelled in Hampi Express from Hubbali to Mysuru via Koppal, Hospet and Bellary, reached Bengaluru over 7 hours late at 2.36 pm instead of 7.00 am, while the test began at 2.00 pm.

"The students could not reach the test centres across the city in time and missed it," a South Western Railway (SWR) official admitted on Sunday.

The students staged a protest demo outside the railway station for missing the test for no fault of theirs. The Railways, however, attributed the delay due to the diversion of the train route from the normal route due to doubling of line work and operational reasons since May 3.

The Chief Minister also wrote to the ministry to allow another 150 students who also missed the test as their exam centre was shifted to Bengaluru from Chikkaballapur at the last minute without prior intimation or information to them.

"As the distance from the exam centre at Chikkaballapur to the centre in Bengaluru is about 40 km, about 150 students who reached the centre in time to appear for the test there, could not commute to the city by 2:00 pm and missed it for no fault of them," an official said.

Kumaraswamy directed state Chief Secretary TM Vijaya Bhaskar to request the HRD Ministry for holding the test again for the 150 students who missed it due to change in exam centre at the last minute from an adjacent district to the state capital. However, the public notice issued by the NTA doesn't mention a re-test for these students. 

The National Testing Agency (NTA) of the HRD ministry conducts the test every year in May for students to secure admission to state-run and private medical and dental colleges across the country for studying graduate and post-graduate courses.

With IANS inputs

Related Stories

No stories found.
The News Minute
www.thenewsminute.com