A day after women medical aspirants who took the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Undergraduate (UG) examination at a centre in Kerala’s Kollam district were forced to remove their bras before entering the exam hall, the Kerala government said on Monday, July 18, that it will inform its displeasure to the union government over the issue.
In a series of tweets, Kerala Higher Education and Social Justice Minister R Bindu strongly condemned the incident. “It is reprehensible that girl students who appeared for the NEET-UG exam in Kollam were made to remove their innerwear before entering the exam hall. It is learnt that this was done by people from the agency conducting the examination,” the Minister tweeted, adding that this was a huge mistake on the part of the agency, as this process was bound to have mentally impacted the students who wrote the exam.
It is reprehensible that girl students who appeared for the NEET-UG exam in Kollam were made to remove their innerwear before entering the exam hall. It is learnt that this was done by people from the agency conducting the examination.
— Dr R Bindu (@rbinducpm) July 18, 2022
“Such an act, carried out without even taking basic human rights into consideration, was completely irresponsible to say the least,” she said. “The Kerala [government] will make its displeasure regarding this incident known to the Union government. Will also request caution from the part of the government to avoid a recurrence of such incidents in the future (sic)," she added.
Bindu also wrote a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, expressing her shock and dismay at the news of the assault on the "dignity and honour of the girl students". "We take strong exception to such an inhuman behaviour from an agency that has only been entrusted with the task of conducting the examination in a fair manner. I strongly recommend action against the agency to prevent future occurrences of a similar nature and request your intervention in the matter," the Minister stated in the letter, which was accessed by TNM.
Kerala Minister Dr R Bindu has written a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, taking strong exception to how girls students were forced to remove their bra before entering a NEET-UG exam centre near Kollam in Kerala. @thenewsminute @dhanyarajendran @rbinducpm pic.twitter.com/U5OWsLuI27
— Lakshmi Priya (@lakshmibindu95) July 18, 2022
Meanwhile, the Chadayamangalam police have started a probe based on the complaint filed by a parent. The police said they have taken the statements of the parent and will file an FIR soon. The Kerala State Commission for Protection of Child Rights has also ordered an inquiry into the incident.
The incident, which took place at the Mar Thoma Institute of Information Technology, Ayur, on Sunday, came to light after a student’s parent filed a complaint with the Superintendent of Police, Kollam Rural in this regard.
Authorities of the Mar Thoma Institute of Information Technology told TNM that none of their staff were involved in the frisking process. “There were two agencies assigned by the NTA for frisking and noting the biometric attendance. We have no clue what the rules on this are. It is the agency’s staff who check all this. In some cases, when the children came crying to us, asking permission to wear a shawl, we intervened and allowed them to do so,” an institute official said.