Campus Talk: 4 days to go for NEET, but dress code panic grips candidates, parents

Campus Talk: 4 days to go for NEET, but dress code panic grips candidates, parents

Parents say the chaos at some exam centres is due to lack of training for the staff on-ground regarding the dress code and other dos and don’ts to be followed for the NEET-UG.

Written by Pallavi Smart

Mumbai | Updated: April 30, 2024 17:03 IST

With only four days left for the single largest national level entrance test, panic levels among candidates and their parents are at their peak. (PTI/ File photo)

Candidates appearing for National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) – Under Graduate (UG) for admission to medical courses are not allowed to take anything inside the exam hall, except their admit card, according to guidelines. The NEET exam follows a strict dress-code and students are subject to extensive and compulsory frisking at the entrance.

The all-India pre-medical test for those who wish to pursue undergraduate medical or dental courses will be held on May 5, Sunday. With only four days left for the single largest national level entrance test, panic levels among candidates and their parents are at their peak.

But all the stress is not about studies alone. In fact, there are more worries about the dress code and other dos and don’ts to follow for the NEET-UG, thanks to multiple reports on chaos outside NEET exam centres in the past.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) information booklet on NEET has dedicated pages to these instructions. However, according to parents, reports of instances from outside NEET exam centres contribute to their stress, for example, last year, one exam centre in Tamil Nadu allegedly asked girls to remove bras for having metal as metallic objects are not allowed inside the exam.

“Now who would have thought metal on bras will be considered a metallic object,” said Sudha Shenoy, a parent and an expert in guiding medical aspirants on technical matters of NEET and is currently addressing multiple questions from candidates and parents on the same topic. “They are worried as any smallest mistake can lead to last minute panic.”

Shenoy shared how candidates and parents are asking questions like “Is it okay to have brand-name on footwear?” “Is it allowed to wear palazzo-pants?” among all.

Blaming the chaos on the lack of training for the staff on-ground, Shenoy said, “The information booklet on NEET does provide details on the instructions. But its implementation does not seem to be universal due to lack of proper training to the staff. This confusion causes chaos at some centres, which makes it to the news and thus result in general panic among candidates and parents, who are new every-year.”