NEET aspirant from Nagpur assigned exam centre in Abu Dhabi despite no passport

A candidate for the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination from Nagpur, Maharashtra, has been allocated an examination centre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, despite having listed Nagpur as his preferred city. The error came to light just a day before the scheduled test.

The student, who originally had a centre at Saraswati Vidyalaya in Nagpur for the initial examination, discovered the discrepancy after downloading his revised admit card. The re-examination was ordered following allegations of a paper leak in the earlier exam.

According to his father, Mohammad Talib, the family has been left in a difficult situation. “We are completely unable to send our child abroad for the exam. He does not even have a passport, and there is no time left to make travel arrangements,” Mr Talib told reporters.

The family has filed a complaint with the National Testing Agency (NTA) helpline. The NTA has reportedly acknowledged the error and assured that a corrected admit card will be issued after verification.

Former Maharashtra Education Minister Dr Anees Ahmed criticised the NTA for the lapse, urging the agency to assign the student a centre in Nagpur or a nearby city. He described the incident as a serious failure on the part of the testing agency.

Meanwhile, the NTA has implemented extensive security measures for the re-examination scheduled for June 21. Confidential exam materials are being transported in GPS-tracked vehicles with police escorts. Centres will have CCTV cameras, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication, and real-time monitoring. Over two lakh personnel, including coordinators, observers, and invigilators, have been mobilised.

Candidates must report to their centres between 11 am and 1:30 pm, with entry gates closing at 1:30 pm. The pen-and-paper exam will run from 2 pm to 5:15 pm across 551 cities in India and 14 abroad. More than 22.79 lakh candidates are registered.