Amid tension and confusion, as many as 25,000 students took the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for MBBS and BDS courses in Chennai even as most students complained that they did not get enough time to prepare for the test.

The test, which was conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), was held at 39 centres and followed strict rules and regulations.

Many of the students from other districts who arrived late were not allowed to write. They allege that the addresses of the test centers were not printed fully with the landmarks in the hall ticket.

Though students requested the government to give them another opportunity to appear for the second phase of NEET to be held on 24 July, many said they had received messages stating that those who had appeared for the test on 1 May could not sit on 24 July.

“I came from Virudhunagar district by a bus in the morning. Since the address was confusing, I could only reach a few minutes late. I was not allowed to write”, a dejected Divya Bharathi said.

Many parents, who came along with the students, were also made to stand outside in the scorching sun and were not provided shelter or drinking water facilities.

“Since it is May Day all the shops were closed. We could not even get drinking water,” Mythili, a parent, complained.

To prevent malpractices, CBSE had issued strict guidelines for students like not allowing them to wear full-sleeve shirts. Candidates were advised to wear half sleeves shirt not having big buttons or badges which could be used to hide communication devices.

As per the guidelines, many of the students who wore bangles and big ear rings had to leave it outside the exam hall, since all those were prohibited.

With the Tamil Nadu Government strongly opposing NEET, started exploring legal options to override NEET. Doctor’s Association for Social Equality (DASE) in Tamil Nadu said the State Government had enacted a law scrapping the entrance test for UG medical courses and the President had given its assent.

DASE Secretary Dr. Ravindranath said legal protection to it was given by including it in the Ninth Schedule in 2007-08. “Since then, admissions to UG medical courses were being made based on the marks obtained by the students in the Plus-Two exam”, he said.