According to reports, approximately 100 female students in Kerala had to face severe embarrassment and humiliation on Sunday when they were forced to remove their undergarments before attempting the NEET 2022 medical entrance exam. Before entering the test centre, they were forced to remove their innerwear at the metal detection stage of the frisking procedure. The incident took place at an exam centre in Kollam.
#Kottarakkara police registered a case against the officials of NEET who were involved in the inspection of female students.
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) July 18, 2022
Controversy was over the examination center where female students were allowed to enter the hall only after they were forced to remove their undergarments pic.twitter.com/KFg40aDTHh
According to the aspirants, the undergarments were discovered piled together in boxes following the exams. Students stated that they had to endure psychological trauma just before taking the high-stakes exam. A complaint has been lodged by the parents with the Deputy Superintendent of Police at Kottarakka, Kollam.
An enraged parent, whose daughter had to go through this nightmare at the centre in Ayoor, 60 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, stated on Monday that what occurred was completely wrong and that he had no choice but to file a complaint.
The facility, located in Kerala’s Marthoma Institute of Information Technology in Ayur Chadayamngalam, has denied involvement, claiming that the frisking and biometric checks were performed by third-party agencies.
Students are not permitted to wear any metallic objects or accessories into the test centre, according to the dress code. This is presumably an anti-cheating measure. Students are not even permitted to wear long sleeves during the exam, according to the NEET dress code. The exam centre does not allow shoes, although slippers and sandals with short heels are permitted.
It is worth noting that this is not the first time that female students have suffered harassment at the NEET exam centre in Kerala; similar incidents have occurred in previous years as well. A female student taking the medical entrance test in Kannur in 2017 was also ordered to remove her undergarments. The test was conducted by CBSE at that time. The event sparked a debate about being overly protective before tests, and Education Minister C Raveendranath said the government will look into it.
