The Kerala High Court is likely to hear on Friday, a plea seeking a standard protocol for conducting examinations across the country in view of a recent incident, where, at a NEET exam centre in the state, female candidates were made to remove part of their undergarments in order to appear for the test.
Besides formulation of a standard protocol for exams across India, the public interest litigation also seeks a direction to the National Testing Agency (NTA) to permit the affected female candidates to re-appear for the exam as they might not have been able to focus on the test that day in view of the "traumatic" situation.
The plea has also sought free counselling for the affected students as well as compensation for the "trauma" and "mental agony" suffered by them.
Seven persons were arrested in connection with the incident on July 17 after a parent of one of the affected candidates lodged a complaint with the police.
Of the seven arrested, five were women and two were men of whom one was a NEET (National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test) observer and the other an exam coordinator.
Three of the arrested women worked for an agency hired by the NTA and the remaining were employed by the private educational institute at Ayur, where the incident took place.
All seven were released on bail by a lower court last week.
Meanwhile, the NTA has formed a fact-finding committee to visit Kollam.
The PIL has contended that this is not the first time such an incident has happened in the name of exams and the reason was the lack of a common protocol or system to conduct exams.
The plea has also claimed that physical or body searches just before the exams affects the student's memory retention.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
You’ve hit your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Quarterly Starter
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Access to Exclusive Premium Stories Online
Over 30 behind the paywall stories daily, handpicked by our editors for subscribers


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app