CBSE clarifies after NEET dress code excesses create row

Amid a furore over dress regulations in the national eligibility-cum-entrance test, the Central Board of Secondary Education clarified late on Monday night that all measures were taken at the examination centres to prevent students from cheating using high-end electronic gadgets.

“The examination was conducted on the NEET 2016 decision of the Supreme Court, and under the supervision of the high-powered Justice Lodha committee, to prevent cheating using high-end electronic gadgets like micro Bluetooth-enabled devices and other sophisticated electronic communication devices,” the CBSE clarification stated. The board has expressed regret for the inconvenience caused to the candidates and their parents.  NEET determines medical and dental seat allotment across India.

The clarification follows reports about authorities forcing a girl in Kannur, Kerala, to take off her inner wear before letting her enter the test centre on Sunday. 

Earlier in the day, the human resource development ministry had indicated that the CBSE will conduct an inquiry into the insensitive treatment of candidates.

“After my daughter entered the exam centre, she came out and handed me her bra, saying she had been asked to remove it in keeping with the CBSE dress code,” a news agency quoted the girl’s mother as
saying.

Candidates across the country said they had been harassed and humiliated on the pretext of dress regulations. The authorities asked her to take off the bra after a metal hook triggered an alarm as she was being frisked with hand-held metal detectors.

In another case, a man had to travel about 4 km from the centre in Kerala to get his daughter a pair of leggings. The authorities had refused to let her inside as she was wearing jeans with metal buttons.

Sleeves cut off

At centres across the country, boys were made to cut off the sleeves of their shirts, while girls had to remove their nose studs and earrings.

The Kerala Assembly, which is in session, discussed the students’ problems.  In Tamil Nadu, DMK working president M K Stalin condemned the dress code, demanding action against those who had harassed NEET candidates.

The CBSE, which conducted NEET on Sunday, had barred the candidates from wearing full sleeve shirts, shoes and ornaments. It had notified the dress code in advance. It had also instructed students not to bring any stationery with them, but many reached the examination centres with pens and other instruments.

“The dress code was prescribed only to prevent students from using high-tech communication devices to cheat in the examination. But the authorities could have been sensitive towards students wearing clothes with metal buttons and hooks. Asking a girl to remove her inner wear just because its hook set off an alarm is really bizarre,” an official said. The CBSE will try to ensure students do not face such problems next time, the official added.

Why these rules?

The dress regulations came into force after candidates were caught cheating at the All India Pre-medical and Dental Test (AIPMT) in 2015.

They were using micro Bluetooth-enabled devices hidden in their ears and inner wear. The board had to reconduct the test after the malpractice came to light.

“Since 2016, candidates are not allowed even to bring their pens as they can be fitted with micro-communication devices. Candidates are given pens at the hall,” an official explained.