Question paper tougher than expected, say NEET aspirants
Parents enquired about the test from their children outside the exam centres while other aspirants intensely discussed the questions with their peers.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) question paper was tougher than expected, most aspirants said in Lucknow after the three-hour exam held from 2pm to 5pm on Sunday.
A surge in traffic and crowds was witnessed around 1-2pm and 4.30-6pm especially near venues such as Lucknow University and Shri Jai Narayan Misra PG College.
A traffic bottleneck was witnessed on the road outside Lucknow University main gate ahead of the Vishwavidyalaya metro station entrance. Police personnel stationed at the exam centres tried to manage the situation while ensuring the students’ safety.
Mayank Kumar, 19, appearing for NEET for the second time, echoed the opinion that the exam was more difficult than expected. “I found the physics paper especially tough,” he said.
He said two of his friends also had a hard time solving the paper. “Most of the people are not confident about all 180 marks of the physics section,” he said.
Many also said that the paper was lengthier than normal, while others differed, saying that it was not very time consuming.
Parents enquired about the test from their children outside the exam centres while other aspirants intensely discussed the questions with their peers.
Abha Singh, 17, met her parents right outside her exam centre at Lucknow University.
“The paper was quite hard, but for my first attempt, I did not have high expectations of excelling with a great percentile,” she said. She also said she was expecting 50-60 percentile, and will prepare better for next year’s NEET. “The physics paper was hard and most of my peers agreed. But I also struggled a bit with the Chemistry section,” she added.
Nearly 35,000 aspirants appeared for NEET at about 73 exam centres in Lucknow. The exam was conducted smoothly at most centres in the state capital. At some centres, there were minor issues. For instance, some students arrived late, a few wore disallowed items like earrings and some were not carrying the required documents. As per rules, the gates at every exam centre closed at 1.30pm, half an hour ahead of the exam, which was slated to start at 2pm.
Prior to that, the students’ documents were checked and frisking was done in five phases, after which they were seated in the exam halls. To avoid cheating, photocopy shops in and around the exam centres were also shut until the end of the exams. CCTV cameras had been set up around all the exam centres.
A few students at an exam centre in Aliganj reportedly arrived shortly after time, and were unable to appear for the exam. Despite requests to be allowed into the exam centre, the security personnel denied them as per instructions as the gates were closed at 1:30pm.
