New Delhi, 20 June (H.S.): The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday issued a clarification regarding the allotment of Abu Dhabi as the examination centre for a NEET-UG 2026 candidate from Nagpur, stating that the change of examination city was made through the candidate's own registered login credentials.

The agency said that after the rescheduling of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2026, scheduled to be held on June 21, it had reopened the examination city correction window to facilitate candidates. During this period, nearly 3.2 lakh candidates modified their preferred examination cities, and more than 99.5 per cent were allotted the city of their choice.

According to the NTA, in the case under discussion, the selection of Abu Dhabi as the examination centre was carried out using the candidate's registered login. The agency stated that web activity records indicate a consistent pattern of access through the same user account throughout the city correction process.

The NTA further said that its records show three separate instances of activity related to the Abu Dhabi examination centre. On one occasion, the examination city was changed to Abu Dhabi using the candidate's login credentials. On two other occasions, the candidate viewed the preview page, which clearly displayed Abu Dhabi as the allotted examination city before the submission was finalised.

Despite these records, the agency said it received an informal request on the evening of June 19, just 48 hours before the examination, seeking a change of the examination centre back to Nagpur.

The NTA said that immediately after receiving the request, its officials initiated prompt action and contacted the candidate's father the same evening to assist him in completing the prescribed formal procedure for the change.

The agency added that the request for changing the examination centre was accepted and processed to ensure that the candidate would not face any difficulty in appearing for the examination.

Reiterating its commitment to a student-first approach, the NTA said its foremost priority is to ensure that no candidate is deprived of the opportunity to appear for the examination because of any administrative or technical concern.

The agency also emphasised that the interests of candidates remain its highest priority and that timely assistance is provided whenever required.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar