education

Updated: May 03, 2019 12:13 IST

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which recently released admit cards for National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for undergraduate (UG) medical and dental seats, has laid down a dress code for candidates to minimise instances of cheating.

In a recently released circular, the NTA asked candidates to wear only light clothes with half sleeves and open footwear.

Those wearing customary dresses including burqas or turbans have been asked to mention the same in their application form and report to the exam centre at least one and a half hours early to complete the frisking procedure.

“Students who have to wear a burqa or a turban during exams have already mentioned the same in their application form and this will be mentioned in their admit card. We’ve requested them to report to the exam centre early so that their frisking process is over in time,” said the circular.

Any metal objects, including belts or digital watches, will not be allowed in the exam centre.

According to registration figures made public by NTA, close to 15.19 lakh students registered for NEET-UG this year, compared to 13.26 lakh in 2018.

There are close to 67,000 UG medical seats in government-run and private institutes in the country, which means at least 23 students will be vying for one medical and dental seat this year.

Like last year, most NEET-UG registrations in the country have come from Maharashtra, where 2.19 lakh students will be appearing for the exam, followed by Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, with 1.57 lakh and 1.40 lakh students respectively.

From Rajasthan, 99,711 have registered for NEET-UG and another 84,443 students registered from Bihar. NEET 2019 will be held across the country on May 5.