The student had selected Nagpur as his preferred examination city. However, when he downloaded his admit card for the rescheduled examination, he found that he had been assigned the Abu Dhabi Indian School in the United Arab Emirates. The original admit card issued for the May 3 National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate examination had allotted him a centre at Saraswati Vidyalaya in Nagpur. The examination was later cancelled following allegations of irregularities and paper leaks.
The candidate's family said he had chosen Nagpur as his first preference while filling out the application form, followed by Wardha and Bhandara. The unexpected overseas allotment created uncertainty because the student did not possess a passport and there was insufficient time to arrange international travel.
"We are completely unable to send our child abroad for the examination. He does not even have a passport, and there is no time left to make travel arrangements," the student's father, Mohammad Talib, told ANI.
After discovering the discrepancy, the family contacted the National Testing Agency helpline. The agency acknowledged the issue and assured them that a revised admit card would be issued after verification. National Testing Agency Director General Abhishek Singh later confirmed to ANI that the candidate had been allotted a centre in Nagpur.
The incident prompted criticism from Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who accused the National Testing Agency of "testing the patience of the country." In a post on X, he questioned how such an error could occur and said that an institution incapable of providing an examination centre in a student's own city had no right to conduct examinations.
Rahul Gandhi further stated that no student should have faced complaints regarding accessibility to examination centres. Referring to remarks he had made earlier in Kota, he said the present system had ceased to function as an education system and had become an instrument that consumed the money, time and mental peace of an entire generation. He called for a sensitive, responsible and accountable education system and examination authority.
Former Maharashtra Education Minister Dr. Anees Ahmed described the incident as a serious lapse and urged the National Testing Agency to immediately rectify the matter by assigning the student a centre in Nagpur or a nearby city.
The controversy emerged even as the National Testing Agency implemented extensive security and logistical arrangements for the smooth and transparent conduct of the re-examination. Examination materials are being transported under strict security protocols in Global Positioning System-enabled vehicles accompanied by police escorts. Additional measures include closed-circuit television surveillance, Aadhaar-based biometric authentication and real-time monitoring systems.
Responding to the allegations, a senior National Testing Agency official claimed that the candidate himself had modified his examination city preferences through the online portal using the same Internet Protocol address from which he had previously downloaded his May 3 admit card.
According to the official, records indicate that on May 21 the candidate logged into the portal and changed his preferences, selecting Abu Dhabi as his first choice and Dubai as his second choice. The same Internet Protocol address, traced to Nagpur, was used to download the May 3 admit card. The candidate also updated his bank details for a refund on May 24, accessed the city intimation slip on June 10 and downloaded the admit card on June 16 using the same Internet Protocol address.
The official said the National Testing Agency possesses complete records of activities carried out on the portal. Despite downloading the admit card on June 16, neither the candidate nor his family contacted the agency or sent any electronic mail regarding the issue. Instead, the student's father approached the media on June 20, one day before the examination.
The official added that the candidate was being allotted a centre in Nagpur and that the agency's cyber team was investigating whether the changes had been made by the candidate himself or by someone who had gained unauthorized access to his account.
The National Testing Agency maintained that this was the only case involving an Indian candidate being allotted an overseas centre and said that no other such incidents had been reported. The agency also stated that it had accommodated several last-minute requests from candidates seeking changes in examination centres.
The episode has intensified scrutiny of the National Testing Agency at a time when it is attempting to restore confidence in the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate examination through enhanced security arrangements and administrative s
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