Chennai, Jun 21 (PTI) More than 1.4 lakh medical aspirants appeared from Tamil Nadu for the NEET re-exam on Sunday, which concluded smoothly, with students rating the paper slightly tougher than the original exam.
Following the cancellation of the May 3 test due to alleged irregularities and a paper leak, the National Testing Agency had rescheduled the NEET exam to June 21.
NTA sources said NEET was conducted at as many as 307 centres across the state, with Chennai alone having 43 centres.
The data showed that a total of 1,42,489 candidates were enrolled to appear for the re-exam.
Students from Tamil Nadu said the NEET question paper was tougher compared to the original May exam.
A student from Chennai, speaking to PTI on condition of anonymity after
the exam, said the Physics and Chemistry papers were difficult, and the questions were lengthy.
“Physics was tougher than Chemistry, while the Biology paper was a bit easier,” the candidate said.
The medical aspirant further said most of the questions were based on the National Council of Educational Research and Training curriculum.
Each aspirant who appeared for NEET underwent a strict series of biometric verification, such as digital fingerprinting and facial recognition, at the entrance of the exam centres, which were secured by a three-tier security force.
Police sources said there were no untoward incidents at any of the NEET exam centres, with security personnel ensuring strict vigil to conduct the MBBS entrance examination in a free and fair manner.
Across India, more than 22 lakh students appeared for the MBBS eligibility test this year, with Tamil Nadu continuing to be one of the states with the highest number of applicants, NTA sources added.
Expressing deep shock and grief over the suicides of two medical aspirants in Dharmapuri and Krishnagiri districts within a span of 24 hours, PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss urged the Central and state governments to take immediate steps to either scrap the national-level entrance test entirely or exempt Tamil Nadu from it. PTI SNR SSK
