The NEET UG medical entrance test has been postponed in Manipur due to violent clashes and a precarious law-and-order situation. The exam conducting body NTA will announce new dates for the exam.
Talking about the postponement of the exam, Minister of State Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh said that he had written to the NTA asking them to “explore the possibility of rescheduling” the exam, in the wake of the situation in Manipur.
The Minister had asked for the postponement citing the current situation, and that 5751 candidates were originally scheduled to appear at the two centres in the state.
Speaking about the current situation, Dr Singh said: “Now the situation is improving. The central paramilitary forces and other forces have already arrived in Manipur. The unwanted mob situation is already under control.”
The NEET exam was scheduled to take place on Sunday (May 7) for all candidates. Manipur is witnessing violent clashes over a move to grant scheduled tribe status to the majority Metei community in the state. Naga and Kuki tribes who are opposing this plan organised a ‘Tribal Solidarity March’ on Wednesday after which the clashes broke out.
Meanwhile, students from other parts of the country took up to social media and reacted to the postponement news. A twitter user named @mamathajk wrote, “@DG_NTA this will skew the results and AIR. This is gross injustice to students who are juggling #NEET with the board exam. And #Bangalore students are impacted because of @BJP4India @narendramodi roadshow. You have to consider all problems and provide equal solution”.
However, keeping NEET examinations in mind, the Karnataka BJP made changes in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day roadshow in Bengaluru, ahead of the Assembly polls in the state, by scheduling an extensive event on May 6 and a shorter one on May 7.
Many others also demanded for postponement citing the limited number of seats.