Kerala: Girl Students Forced to Remove Innerwear at NEET Exam Centre

Kollam (Kerala) : When the students in other parts of Kerala were waiting to enter the examination hall for writing the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) exam, a few girl students at Mar Thoma Institute of Information Technology in Kollam were asked to remove their innerwear before entering the examination hall. 

A parent in Kollam district claimed that his daughter was asked to remove her innerwear before entering the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) examination centre. Following outrage over the alleged incident, the Human Rights Commission has directed Kollam rural SP to investigate the matter and submit a report within 15 days.

The incident came to light after a student’s father filed a complaint with the Superintendent of police at Kollam. The complainant, who lodged his complaint with the Kottarakara police, said that female NEET aspirants, including his daughter, were asked to remove their innerwear before entering the examination centre in Chathamangalam. 

“My daughter has been preparing for the NEET exam since 8th grade. We were confident that she would achieve a good rank in the test but due to this issue she was unable to concentrate and couldn't properly write the exam,” a student's father told ANI adding students were ‘mentally tortured’.

The girl’s father cited the National Testing Agency's guidelines and said it ‘had not mentioned any ban on any form of brassiere (bra) and hooks’. 

“They were very uncomfortable. The guideline issued by NTA had not mentioned any ban on bras and hooks. We were following all guidelines. But the staff did not allow them to enter the classroom without removing innerwear,” he added. 

Meanwhile, the exam centre Marthoma Institute of Information Technology has denied responsibility for the incident. The state's women's commission also registered a suo moto case
over the incident.

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Meanwhile, several Muslim students, who went to appear for the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) 2022 examinations in Rajasthan's Kota and Maharashtra's Washim on Sunday, faced trouble for wearing hijab. In Kota, Muslim students were stopped at the entrance of the Modi College and asked to remove their hijabs.