Mix-up of question papers causes chaos at exam centres in Madurai and Salem

A major blunder by the CBSE authorities resulted in at least 200 NEET aspirants being unable to start writing the examination on time at the Noyes Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Narimedu, Madurai, and the Sri Vidya Mandir School in Meyyanur, Salem, on Sunday. The officials had distributed the wrong set of question papers.

In Madurai, the parents of the affected NEET aspirants grew anxious as their wards didn’t emerge from the centres long after other candidates left.

Initially, the CBSE authorities refused to divulge any information to the parents, but later informed them that their wards were given English / Hindi bilingual question papers instead of English / Tamil. One batch of 22 students were given photocopies of question papers around 12.30 p.m. Another batch of 90 students were provided the same by 2.50 p.m.

NEET (Madurai) city coordinator P. Selvaraj said, “We got in touch with the CBSE authorities, and as per their directions, photocopies of question papers were made and distributed to the students. The CBSE authorities have assured [us] that all the answer scripts will be evaluated without any issues.”

The students said the officials obtained their signatures as an acknowledgement that they were provided the full three-hour slot to write the exam.

The issue remained unresolved till the evening, as the affected students and their parents demanded that they be provided a booklet containing the questions, which other candidates had received. They staged a sit-in, and dispersed only after the centre superintendent gave an assurance that the question papers would be sent to them in a fortnight.

In Salem, steps were taken to obtain English and Tamil question papers from nearby centres. The first set of students were given English and Tamil question papers at 11.15 a.m. and the rest in batches.

Biscuits and lunch were provided to the affected students.