Some candidates who appeared for the National Eligibility Test (NET) on Sunday were reduced to tears after they were made to remove their mangalsutra and toe rings before entering the examination hall.
The hall ticket had specified that candidates would not be allowed to wear watch or any other metal, apart from carrying electronic devices, bits of paper, notebooks, and mobile phones.
The test determines eligibility of Indian nationals for junior research fellowship and for the post of assistant professor in Indian universities and colleges.
In one of the examination centres in J.P. Nagar, there was a heated exchange between candidates and conveners of the exam. Some women were seen pleading with the authorities to allow them to write the test without removing these ornaments.
But the authorities refused.
One of the candidates was made to remove her mangalsutra and toe rings, according to her husband. “It was very traumatising as it hurt our sentiments. The authorities should have been a little more considerate,” he said. He also alleged that his wife’s colleague, who wrote the exam in another centre in Yelahanka, was not asked to remove her mangalsutra.
Another candidate in the same centre said that many were finding it difficult to remove their toe rings. Some candidates were also asked to remove burkha.
11.48 lakh registered
The Central Board of Secondary Education, which conducted the examination, said in a press release that it was held across 2,082 examination centres in 91 cities in the country. The examination was conducted in 84 different subjects and 11.48 lakh candidates had registered for it.
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