The controversy stems from girls being asked to remove their innerwear at a NEET examination centre in Kollam in Kerala.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test aspirants reportedly underwent this humiliating experience at a private educational establishment at Ayoor near Kollam. (Creative Commons)
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission on Monday, 18 July, directed the Kollam Rural Police to investigate the alleged incident of young women being asked to remove their innerwear at a NEET examination venue a day earlier.
The commission has also registered a case following the incident, and urged the police to submit a detailed investigation report within 15 days.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test aspirants reportedly underwent this humiliating experience at a private educational establishment at Ayoor near Kollam.
Kerala’s Higher Education Minister R Bindu strongly condemned the incident on Monday and disclosed that she would convey the displeasure of the state government to the Union Ministry of Human Resources in this regard.
She told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that protests would also be registered with the National Testing Agency, the Central government agency conducting such high-profile entrance examinations.
The minister said the agency had committed an unpardonable crime, and that it must not be repeated.
It was a clear violation of fundamental human rights and dignity, she said.
The girls suffered the bitter experience on Sunday, and it became a major controversy after the parents of one of them publicly accused the authorities of causing their daughter extreme mental trauma.
The father of a girl from Sooranadu in Kollam also lodged a police complaint claiming the 17-year-old, who appeared for her first NEET exam, was yet to recover from the traumatic experience as she had to appear for the three-hour examination without any undergarments.
According to her parents, one of the male invigilators told her she could either remove her innerwear or not write the exam.
Now, a set of women police officers have been deputed to record the statement of the complainant and other girls who appeared for the examination at this particular venue.
There could also be a probe against the private agency that conducted the test on behalf of the NTA.
In his petition, the father said the girl had worn clothes as per the dress code prescribed in the NEET bulletin, and that it does not say anything specific about innerwear.
He said the metal hooks of the undergarments were the matter of contention as the exam conductors said the NEET guidelines mandate no metal product must be carried into the exam hall.
He also claimed there were two rooms where the undergarments of the young women and girls were stacked on each other in violation of Covid-19 protocols.
May 13, 2024
May 13, 2024
May 13, 2024
May 13, 2024
May 13, 2024
May 13, 2024
