Nagpur: The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday allotted PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ajni, Nagpur as the examination centre for NEET aspirant Abdullah Mohammad Talib after he was initially assigned an exam centre in Abu Dhabi, triggering concerns and drawing attention on social media.
The issue surfaced after the Nagpur-based candidate downloaded his admit card and found that his examination centre had been allotted in Abu Dhabi just a day before the NEET-UG 2026 examination.
The development led to widespread criticism, with the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, raising the matter and questioning the examination system's handling of students' concerns.
Detailing the incident, the student's father, Mohammad Talib, said, "After the admit card was downloaded at 4 pm yesterday, we found the Centre mentioned to be a school in Abu Dhabi. We were really shocked as we had not given anything as such in our options. We dialled up the helpline number. They told us to send them a mail. When we sent a mail, we received a call that we will be issued a fresh admit card by 4 pm on Saturday."
He further added, "We had given 3 districts as options but we now demand that Nagpur be given us as the Centre because he is shocked. There is no time to go to any other district. He cried a lot yesterday and did not even want to write the exam. But his mother tried to convince him. If he is convinced, he will appear for the exam. He does not even have a passport..."
Responding to the issue, the NTA posted on X that the grievance was being addressed and that the candidate would be allocated a centre in Nagpur after due verification. Following the verification process, the agency allotted PM SHRI Kendriya Vidyalaya, Ajni as the student's examination centre.
Speaking after the revised allotment, Abdullah's father expressed satisfaction and relief, stating that the family was worried about the logistical challenges posed by the overseas centre. He thanked the authorities for addressing the matter promptly and ensuring that his son would be able to appear for the examination in Nagpur.
His father, Mohammad Talib, says, "Just 5 minutes ago, we received the fresh admit card with the exam centre in Nagpur. We are very thankful to the Agency for this prompt action. We are also thankful to the media for raising this issue. Abdullah is not ready to write the exam again, but we are convincing him. Now that he has the fresh admit card, we will speak with him again. I can't express in words how tense we were...They should ensure that nothing like this occurs in the future. No one else should go through what we had to."
Giving a clarification about the whole situation, the NTA posted on X stating that the city of Abu Dhabi was chosen by the student himself.
"On the 'Abu Dhabi' query: NTA's 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 said.
