On, 17 July 2022 the officials of National Testing Agency (NTA) that works for private educational institution at Ayur in Kollam crossed all the limits when they asked the female candidates to remove their innerwear before they were permitted to write NEET-UG exam.
The Kerala police on 19 July 2022 registered a case when a 17 year old girl’s father complained after the girl was obliged to remove her innerwear before appearing for the exam. Five women involved in the alleged incident were taken into custody. Later on, it was found out that four more girls with the same complaints approached the police.
The girls’ father said that ‘when she initially refused to remove innerwear, she was told to not appear for the exam and was questioned whether her future or the innerwear was important’. According to the students, an entire room was filled with the student’s undergarments.
It is reported that the girl has still not recovered from the humiliating experience she faced of writing a 3 hour long examination without an innerwear. Reportedly, the girl's father is planning to file a case with the Human rights commission and has said that his daughter was dressed as per the dress code that was mentioned in the NEET bulletin which did not mention anything about innerwears.
Such conduct of exam organizers towards the students is highly unacceptable. These days the students are burdened with the stress of exam and its impact on their future. Advances in various aspects such as technology mean that today’s teens are facing issues that no previous generation has ever seen.
Exam stress can cause anxiety and a depressed state of mind; along with this the prolonged effects of stress include panic attacks, low self-esteem, self-harming or suicidal thoughts leading to worsening of mental health. Majority of the students present with moderate to severe levels of anxiety right before exams.
Students facing such harrowing situations during an exam only adds to their already-existing stress. These kinds of situations have a negative impact on students' exam performance. Due to underlying stress and anxiety, some students are said to have gone blank during the exam.