Kerala NEET Row: “Punish The Guilty” -AIDWA
Representational Image. Image Courtesy: NDTV
New Delhi: The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has expressed its outrage at the humiliating treatment meted out to girl students who were appearing for the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) exam in the Ayirur exam centre in the Kollam district of Kerala.
Reportedly, several girls were frisked in an unacceptable way and asked to remove their inner clothes in order to conduct a security check before entering the exam hall. The performance of the traumatised girls was adversely impacted by this incident and the parents of one of the girl students lodged a complaint with the police.
The Kerala Higher Education Minister, R. Bindu has registered her strong protest and asked the Union Minister of Education and National Testing Agency Chairman to take appropriate action in the matter.
What is even more shocking is that the National Testing Agency (NTA), the exam conducting authority did not take up the matter seriously. The NTA however, has dismissed the allegation that girls were told to remove inner wear. “No complaint or representation has been received by us. On basis of claims in media reports, an immediate report was sought from the centre superintendent and observer. They have informed that no such incident took place and the complaint is fictitious and has been filed with wrong intentions,” a senior NTA official told the Indian Express.
In their press release, AIDWA has stated that the NTA has the responsibility of conducting all entrance exams in the country and that all the examination centres allotted by the NTA were unaided schools/colleges in the state.
However, a court in Kerala on Thursday granted bail to seven people, including five women, who are accused of forcing female students to remove their innerwear before appearing for the NEET test.
In light of the latest developments, AIDWA has demanded a strict review of the security protocols of entrance exams, to ensure that the safety and dignity of the students, especially girl students, are not violated during the nationwide mass entrance exams. “The Central Government should ensure that the guilty are punished and the NTA is censured for its irresponsible comments on this incident and procedures,” the press release stated.
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