Thiruvananthapuram (The Hawk): The National Eligibility Cumulative Entrance Test (NEET) this year was a major embarrassment and insult for the girls who travelled to Marthoma Institute of Information Technology in Ayur, Chadayamangalam, in Kerala's Kollam district. They were made to remove their undergarments before entering the examination hall by the invigilators.
At the metal detection step of the frisking operation, more than 100 female students were made to endure extreme humiliation and disrespect by being required to remove their underwear. Students claimed that before taking the exam, which required years of dedicated preparation, they had to go through psychological agony.
The NEET dress code prohibits students from wearing any metallic clothing or accessories inside the testing facility. Slippers and sandals are accepted in place of shoes.
A police report was made by the father of a student from Sooranad in the Kollam district who was made to take off her underwear. After submitting the police report, he spoke to the media and said: "My daughter was expecting a high rank in the exam and had been studying for the NEET since she was in eighth grade but this happened devastated her."
The Chadayamangalam police responded to his accusation by filing a case under Sections 354 and 509 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Following the complaint, five ladies were detained on July 19, 2022. Two Marthoma Institute of Technology employees and three members of the private security firm were among those detained.
More than 100 girls allegedly endured the humiliation in silence, according to the girl who filed the lawsuit. She continued, saying that the exam room included both boys and girls, that brassieres were thrown in a basket outside, and that she was ashamed to take the test without undergarments.
There is no requirement that underwear be removed in order to take the NEET exam, according to the National Testing Agency (NTA), which administers the test.
It's interesting to note that the security personnel assigned by the NTA to the exam duty were unaware of the trauma being experienced by the pupils during a test where good mental health is a crucial component of success.
Dr. R. Bindhu, the minister of higher education for Kerala, had personally brought up the subject with the union education minister, and later, V. Muraleedharan, the union minister of state for external affairs, also brought it up.
Professor Subadra N. of a government college in Kerala said to IANS: "Let's hope that the NTA and the college administration that oversees the exam show more restraint and use judgement before taking such severe measures in the upcoming year. Additionally, they should take more care when hiring security personnel because they should know at the very least how crucial these exams are to the future of these students and how many years of perseverance, patience, and arduous study would have been wasted due to the foolish actions of these so-called security personnel hired from some unregistered private agencies."
She argued that educators and those in charge of the exam's administration must properly scout the test and remove any unwelcome features from the NEET exam centres.
(Inputs from Agencies)