The alleged incident where a large proportion of female students were asked to remove their bras before taking the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2022 has left several students in a state of mental trauma. The pot has been stirring since the exam took place on Sunday 17 July. From allegations to counter-accusations and now finally the arrest of five women in this case. Here’s what has happened in the case so far.
exam day: The exam started on July 17 at 2pm, but reporting started earlier around 12:30pm. While frisking for the exam, female students in Kerala were shocked when they were asked to take off their bras and sit in the same room with their male counterparts for the exam.
About 100 female students were humiliated when asked to remove their bras during the metal detection phase at an exam center in Kollam. This happened when the hooks in the inner clothing were detected as mental during the checking, alleged students. Although the dress code states that NEET aspirants are not allowed to wear metal objects or accessories in the examination room, it does not mention undergarments such as bras that may contain metal hooks and underwires.
Students and parents file complaints: A complaint was lodged with the Kottrakka Deputy Superintendent of Police. The parents of a 17-year-old girl had filed a complaint. Police registered a case under IPC Sections 354 (Adult or criminal assault against a woman with intent to offend her modesty) and 509 (Word, gesture or act intended to offend a woman’s modesty). The female students claimed that they were asked to take off their bras and that this not only caused problems during the exam, but that they also covered themselves with stoles or dupattas when they got home. Several other students made similar allegations, although they did not report separately to the police. According to the students, their underwear was found dumped together in boxes after the investigation.
“While taking the exam, we covered ourselves with hair all the time… What was even more concerning is that the official there instructed the girls to wear the inner garments in their hands while they returned and not to wear them,” one female aspirant told me. to News18.com.
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NTA denies incident: A senior NTA official said he had not received any such complaints and immediately requested a report after hearing it through the media. “No complaint or representation has been received by us. Based on claims in media reports, a report was immediately requested from the center superintendent and observer. They have stated that no such incident has occurred and that the complaint is fictitious and made with wrong intentions,” the official said.
The Exam Center Inspector, the Independent Observer and the Kollam Coordinator claimed that they “did not find any such incident in the center”. An observer at the Ayur center where the incident allegedly took place said the center’s Superintendent told him they had seen a metal button on a girl’s shoulder, but the Superintendent later called it “fictional” and said that he didn’t “immediately see anything like taking off undergarments as alleged in the complaint.”
“I was vigilant in carrying out all procedures and to my knowledge there were no bad incidents at the center on the day of the exam. I think the complaint is fictitious and with bad intentions,” the inspector said in his letter.
Protests and destruction of the exam center: After NTA officials questioned parents’ intentions, protests began on July 18. The protests were held in the southern region of Kollam in Kerala, with some of the rioters organizing protest marches destroying the educational institution in Ayur. Student activists allegedly broke into the school building by breaking the police cordon, leading to vandalism, while some were injured in police actions
Five women arrested: Kerala police arrested five women in line to remove the bra. Of the five, three worked for an agency hired by the NTA, and two worked for the private educational institution of the Ayur Exam Center in Kollam.
Report NTA committee in 4 weeks: The NTA has set up a commission of inquiry to establish the facts. It consists of four members: Dr Sadhana Parashar, senior director at NTA, Shylaja OR, director of Saraswathi Vidyalaya Arappura Vattiyorkavy in Thiruvanthapuram, and Suchitra Shyjinth of Pragati Academy in Ernakulam.
The committee will have to submit a report to the Ministry of Education. They will visit the exam center where the incident took place and “verify the facts of the case after speaking with all persons involved,” NTA said. The agency added that they will “review NTA’s security/breeding protocols as outlined in “Chapter 9: Prohibited Items and Dress Codes” of the information bulletin, as well as “Chapter 3: Section 3.13 of NTA NEET(UG)-2022 Guidelines.” for city coordinators, center supervisors, observers and security guards were followed.” They must report within 4 weeks.
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