Why Students Say Flying From Gulf For NEET Exams is Impractical

The Supreme Court recently refused to allow exam centres for the NEET to be set up abroad.

NEET candidates from Gulf countries say that it is not safe for them to travel to India just to write exams.

(Photo: Arnica Kala/The Quint)

Video Editor: Rahul Sanpui

The Supreme Court’s refusal to allow exam centres for the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) in Gulf countries has left several Indian students in the lurch, many of whom have their JEE Main exam in the Gulf and NEET in India.

Jonathan Vergis, who resides in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and has his JEE Main exam in Dubai on 3 August, says that even if he travels to Kerala for NEET UG, he won’t be able to write it.

“I have my JEE exam on 3 September in Dubai. Even if I catch a ‘VandeBharat’ flight on the 4 or 5 September, I won’t be able to complete my quarantine of 14 days, as most of the states require.”

Jonathan Vergis, JEE Main & NEET Candidate.

NEET candidate Jasim, who lives in Saudi Arabia, says that it’s a horror to even imagine travelling alone to India, as it’s not viable for his parents to accompany him. “Imagine if I decided to travel to India alone, waiting in the airport for around two hours and then in an airtight flight with no ventilation whatsoever... which means more risk of getting infected,” he says.

Another NEET aspirant from Oman pointed out that given the present situation, it is not viable for parents to take leaves from their jobs and travel to India, as returning to Gulf countries could be a challenge.

“Parents can’t easily take leaves over here and accompany their child during the examination. Many expats over here are already getting laid-off. In such cases, the parents shouldn’t have to worry about the safety of their child along with job security.”

NEET candidate from Oman

The solution, students say, lies in either establishing NEET centres in the Gulf or in postponing exams and conducting them only when the situation returns to normal.