E-Paper
Candidates battle heat, exam stress to take NEET 2024 in Lucknow
NEET UG 2024 exam conducted smoothly in Lucknow amid heat wave. Paper leak claims dismissed. Candidates faced challenges with varying opinions on difficulty level.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2024 aspirants braved scorching heat wave to take the rigorous three-hour exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) across 53 centers in Lucknow on Sunday.
“The exam was conducted smoothly at all centres in Lucknow,” said Avni Kamal, city coordinator, NEET 2024 while dismissing messages of paper leak on social media.
The claims of paper leak are completely false, said NTA in a statement.
At some centres candidates were denied entry as they turned up after 1.30 pm, the last reporting time as candidates were required to adhere strictly to NTA guidelines, he said. Electronic devices weren’t permitted inside the exam hall. Loose clothing, jewelry and even shoes too were not allowed. Of the 35,200 registered candidates, 34,300 candidates took the exams at 53 centres while 900 were marked absent even as at 42.5 degrees celsius, the temperature touched the season’s highest around 1 pm.
Many of them later had varying opinions on the difficulty level of the 32-page question paper with two blank pages.
For instance, some like Surjeet Kaur, who took the test at an exam centre in Purania, Aliganj felt that the physics section posed minimal challenges though Sahil Khan, who came from Lalitpur to take the exam at RKS Senior Secondary school in Aliganj in Lucknow had different views.
“I reached centre at 11.30 am and got a smooth entry. Biology and Chemistry questions were easy for me, but physics was tough. A total of 180 questions had to be attempted out of 200 by a candidate but I struggled to complete the last two,” he said.
“I came with my daughter Neha at 10. 30 am to avoid getting caught in traffic jams due to road and flyover construction,” said Rakesh, who came from Dubagga to NEET exam centre at Indira Nagar sector 14.
Surjeet Kaur, a candidate who took the test at an exam centre in Aliganj said, “Physics was easy. Infact, the preparation I did was exactly the way it was required to solve the paper.
“Biology was easier for me as compared to physics and chemistry. I finished entire paper in two-and-half hours,” said Supreet Singh, a candidate who appeared for the test at SBS School centre in Aliganj. Across UP the exam was held in 60 cities. In 2023, 29383 candidates took NEET test in Lucknow. A total 32000 had registered then
