NEET Centre Row Takes Twist: NTA Says Nagpur Student Chose Abu Dhabi Himself

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday clarified that the allotment of an Abu Dhabi examination centre to a NEET-UG 2026 candidate from Nagpur was based on a city change request made through the student's own registered login during the correction window.

The clarification came after reports that Abdulla Talib , a candidate from Maharashtra's Nagpur, was shocked to find Abu Dhabi listed as his examination centre despite having initially selected Nagpur, Wardha and Bhandara as preferred locations.

In a statement, the NTA said that after the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination was rescheduled to June 21, a correction window was reopened to allow candidates to modify their examination city preferences. According to the agency, around 3.2 lakh candidates used the facility, with more than 99.5 per cent receiving their preferred city.

Addressing the Nagpur case, the NTA said its web activity records showed that the city was changed to Abu Dhabi using the candidate's credentials and that the centre selection was viewed twice afterward through the same login. The agency added that it received an informal request on June 19, just 48 hours before the examination, seeking a change to Nagpur.

"NTA personnel immediately initiated the change and contacted the candidate's father to complete the formal process," the agency said, describing the decision as part of its "student-first" approach to ensure no candidate misses the examination.

The NEET-UG 2026 re-test will be conducted on June 21 from 2 pm to 5:15 pm in pen-and-paper mode across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad for more than 22.79 lakh candidates . The re-examination follows the cancellation of the original test amid alleged paper leak concerns.