Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, June 21: As many as 1,227 candidates remained absent for the NEET-UG retest conducted across 12 examination centres in Dakshina Kannada district on Sunday, even as authorities reported smooth and incident-free proceedings under heightened security arrangements.

According to officials T K Chand and Jaswinder Lal, a total of 5,570 candidates had registered for the examination, of whom 4,343 appeared, while 1,227 were absent. Authorities enforced strict security measures and enhanced entry protocols at all centres.

Candidates were allowed entry only after verification of their NEET admit cards, while officials closely monitored gates and corridors to regulate movement. Invigilators and examination staff supervised candidate flow and ensured compliance with examination guidelines throughout the day.

Among the examination centres, St Aloysius Deemed-to-be University Campus and St Aloysius ‘A’ Block had the highest intake, with arrangements made for 720 candidates each. Of these, 175 candidates were absent at the university campus, while 157 candidates did not appear at the ‘A’ Block centre.

At Dayananda Pai-Sathish Pai College, 135 of the 600 registered candidates were absent.

Centres including Government College, Balmatta; St Agnes College; St Aloysius PU College; University College; and Kendriya Vidyalaya-1 had provision for 480 candidates each. The number of absentees at these centres stood at 111, 97, 100, 101 and 115, respectively.

At Vidyadayini High School, 102 of the 432 registered candidates remained absent. Kendriya Vidyalaya-2 recorded the lowest absentee count, with only 38 of the 218 registered candidates failing to appear for the examination. At Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya, Mudipu, 52 of the 240 registered candidates were absent, while 44 of the 240 candidates did not appear at the Government PU College for Women.

Pleasant weather conditions during the day eased travel and waiting arrangements for candidates, parents and examination staff.

Several parents, particularly those travelling from outside the district, arrived in Mangaluru a day in advance to avoid last-minute disruptions and support their children. Many described the retest as an additional emotional and financial burden after students were required to prepare again following allegations of a question paper leak linked to the May examination.

A candidate whose family hails from Nanjangud in Mysuru district and who is studying at a private college in Dakshina Kannada said the second round of preparation had been challenging. “I prepared well and appeared for the first NEET exam. I had high hopes of getting a good ranking, but it was destroyed after the alleged paper leak. I prepared again and today I am here to reappear. I am confident of doing well,” the candidate said.

At the Government PU College for Women in Balmatta, a parent from Hassan said their son had mentally moved on after the first examination and had nearly put away his study materials.