NEET retest row: Nagpur candidate flags Abu Dhabi centre allotment, NTA denies error citing login records, shifts centre on request
Nagpur: Despite opting for Nagpur as the preferred city for examination, a NEET aspirant from Nagpur claimed that he was allotted an examination centre in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, just a day ahead of the medical entrance examination scheduled for June 21.
However, the National Testing Agency (NTA) on its official social media handle on X mentioned that the candidate himself had modified the examination city through his registered login during the designated correction window. According to the agency, its web activity showed a consistent single-user access pattern, indicating that the change was made from the candidate's own account.
The agency further stated in the post that although the Abu Dhabi centre had been selected by the candidate, NTA received an informal request on the evening of June 19, just 48 hours before the examination, to change the centre to Nagpur. It claimed that officials immediately initiated the process and contacted the candidate's father the same evening to help in completing the formal process.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday said it had resolved the issue of a Nagpur-based candidate being allotted an examination centre in Abu Dhabi for the NEET UG 2026 re-examination, and that the student has now been assigned a centre in Nagpur.
"A "Student-First" Approach: The NTA's priority is that no candidate misses the examination over an administrative doubt," the agency's post read.
As per a PTI report, the student had earlier been assigned a centre at Saraswati Vidyalaya in Nagpur for the May 3 NEET examination. However, after the exam was rescheduled following the paper leak controversy, he downloaded his new admit card only to discover that his examination centre had been shifted to the Abu Dhabi Indian School in the UAE.
According to the family, the student had opted for Nagpur as his first choice while filling out the application form, followed by Wardha and Bhandara. They were stunned to find an overseas centre mentioned on the admit card.
"We are completely unable to send our child abroad for the exam. He does not even have a passport, and there is no time left to make travel arrangements," said the student’s father.
The family has lodged a complaint with the NTA helpline, which reportedly acknowledged the mistake and assured them that a revised admit card would be issued after verification.
NTA clarification
The NTA has clarified that a NEET UG 2026 candidate had selected Abu Dhabi as the examination city through her own registered login during the correction window and that the agency later changed the centre to Nagpur following a request made just days before the examination.
In a post on X, NTA said that after the NEET UG 2026 examination was rescheduled to June 21, it reopened the examination-city correction window to help candidates update their preferences.
According to the agency, around 3.2 lakh candidates used the correction facility, and more than 99.5 per cent of them were allotted their preferred examination city.
Addressing the controversy regarding the Abu Dhabi examination centre, NTA stated, "Our web-activity records indicate that the city change in this case was made through the candidate's own registered login during the open correction window, with a consistent single-user access pattern."
NTA further claimed that the Abu Dhabi examination centre was not only selected once but was also previewed twice by using the candidate's credentials. Despite this, the agency said it acted on a last-minute request to shift the examination centre.
"NTA has observed that on 3 occasions, one the centre was changed to Abu Dhabi using the candidate’s credentials, and twice it was previewed that the centre is Abu Dhabi. Despite the Abu Dhabi centre being chosen by the candidate, the NTA received an informal request on the evening of June 19 (just 48 hours before the exam) to change the centre to Nagpur. NTA personnel immediately initiated the change and contacted the candidate's father on 19th evening itself to help them complete the formal process. The NTA's priority is that no candidate misses the examination over an administrative doubt," it said in the post.
Also read- Over 20 lakh aspirants, 7 lakh officials: NTA completes NEET 2026 retest
