Jaipur: The NEET-PG 2026 exam at two centres in Jaipur’s Sitapura area was disrupted Sunday after power outages allegedly caused computer systems to shut down repeatedly during the test, prompting protests outside the venue.Candidates said the exam, scheduled to start at 9am, could not begin for up to an hour due to the problem, adding that the disruption severely affected their performance. Following their protests, the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) announced a re-examination for affected candidates at both centres.The retest will be held on Sept 5 at 3pm.
Students protests outside centre in Jaipur
Students protests outside centre in Jaipur
This is the second disruption due to power failure of a national-level exam in the state in less than 10 days. On Aug 22, the National Testing Agency (NTA) ordered a retest for 192 candidates who appeared for the All India AYUSH Post Graduate Entrance Test (AIAPGET) at a Jaipur centre after an outage disrupted the computer-based exam.Candidates appearing for Sunday’s test said their computer systems kept shutting down every few minutes. “We would attempt two questions, then the system would shut down and we’d be asked to wait for it to restart. Once restarted, the system would shut down again. This happened at least 10-15 times,” said Vishnu Sharma, a candidate, while speaking to reporters.“Amid the disruption, several candidates started discussing questions with each other. It looked like a school test for Class 7 or 8, more than a national-level entrance exam,” he added.In a statement issued Sunday, the Union Ministry of Health attributed the disruption to the agency responsible for conducting the exam at the two centres in question. “While the examination was completed for the overwhelming majority of candidates nationwide, an unforeseen technical disruption occurred at iON Digital Zone iDZ Sitapura Centres, Jaipur, Rajasthan, where the examination could not be completed for 2,445 candidates due to internal power supply issues at the test centres, attributable to TCS Ltd, the agency conducting the exam,” the statement said.Reacting to the incident, state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasra said, “This is not a ‘double-engine’ govt; it is a ‘double-failure’ system and the nation’s youth are paying the price for it. BJP govts are incapable of conducting even a single exam properly”.“From power outages and mismanagement to chaotic scenes, students were left in distress for hours, yet the BJP govt remained oblivious,” he added.Congress MLA Sachin Pilot also weighed in on the matter, saying, “The disruption due to technical issues is a matter of grave concern. The issue goes beyond the mere cancellation or rescheduling of the exam. When will accountability be fixed for these systemic failures?”.According to NBEMS, the NEET-PG 2026 exam was conducted Sunday across 1,111 centres nationwide for 2,73,096 registered candidates. Of these, 2,65,980 candidates appeared for the exam, and approximately 2,63,535 candidates completed it.While the NEET postgraduate test is conducted by NBEMS, the undergraduate NEET exam is administered by NTA.GFXBuck Stops Where?Union Ministry of Health attributed Sunday’s disruption to the agency responsible for conducting the exam at the two Jaipur centresA similar power outage on Aug 22 left 49 of 192 candidates sitting for AIAPGET at a Jaipur centre unable to complete the examNTA ordered a retest, while similarly holding a private firm tasked with conducting the exam responsible for the disruption
