NEET aspirant chose Abu Dhabi exam center, NTA clarifies

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has clarified its position regarding a Nagpur student who was allotted an examination center in Abu Dhabi for the NEET UG 2026 re-examination, asserting that the candidate himself made the selection.

According to a senior NTA official, the candidate modified his examination city preferences through the official portal, designating Abu Dhabi as his first choice and Dubai as the second. This contradicts the student's father's statement that his son had preferred centers in Nagpur, Wardha, and Bhandara. The NTA official highlighted that the modifications were made using the same IP address that was used to download the admit card for the May 3 examination, suggesting a consistent pattern of activity from a single source.

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Records show that on May 21, the candidate logged in and changed his examination city preferences, selecting Abu Dhabi as the first choice and Dubai as the second. The same IP address, traced to Nagpur, was used to download his admit card for the May 3 examination.

Further evidence cited by the NTA includes the candidate logging in on May 21 to change his preferences, updating bank details for a refund on May 24, accessing the city intimation slip on June 10, and downloading his admit card on June 16, all using the same IP address traced to Nagpur. The NTA also noted that the center was changed to Abu Dhabi on three separate occasions using the candidate's credentials, with the preview indicating Abu Dhabi as the center twice.

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We have complete logs of his activities on the NEET portal. Despite downloading the admit card on June 16, neither the candidate nor his family contacted the NTA and did not send any mail regarding this. Instead, his father approached the media on June 20, just a day before the exam.

Despite receiving an "informal request on the evening of June 19" to change the center back to Nagpur, the NTA stated that the center had already been changed. The agency pointed out that neither the candidate nor his family contacted the NTA or sent any emails regarding the issue after downloading the admit card on June 16. The father reportedly approached the media on June 20, just a day before the exam. While the NTA is now allotting the candidate a center in Nagpur, its cyber team is investigating the authenticity of the changes, examining whether they were self-inflicted or the result of an account compromise.

The NTA official emphasized that this was the only reported instance of a candidate being allotted an overseas center and affirmed that no other similar cases have surfaced. The agency also mentioned accommodating last-minute requests from several other candidates seeking changes to their examination centers, indicating a degree of flexibility in their procedures.

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We are now allotting him a centre in Nagpur, but our cyber team is examining whether the changes were made by the candidate himself or by someone who may have gained access to his account.