A total of 8751 candidates were scheduled to appear at the two centres in Manipur. (Representational)
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday decided to postpone the NEET (UG) examinations to be held in centres in violence-hit Manipur on Sunday till a later date. This comes after Union MoS for External Affairs and Education Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, keeping in view the current situation in Manipur, wrote a letter regarding rescheduling the NEET (UG) 2023 examinations.
"Please refer to the D.O. Letter dated May 6, 2023, from Dr Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, MOS, External Affairs and Education, Government of India regarding rescheduling the NEET (UG)-2023 Examination," the NTA said in a notification.
"In this regard, this is to inform you that the NEET (UG)-2023 Exam has been postponed for the candidates who were allotted examination centres in the State of Manipur and their exam will be held at a later date. The candidates are also being informed through automatic call and email," it read further.
Speaking on the development, Singh said that keeping a view of the current situation in Manipur, he had requested to postpone the examinations.
"I had requested them [NEET authority] to postpone the exam, in the current situation. The new date of the exam will be fixed. A total of 8751 candidates were scheduled to appear at the two centres in Manipur," he told ANI.
Earlier in the day, the National People's Party-led Meghalaya government on Saturday held a meeting to review the status of the ongoing evacuation process of its students from the violence-hit State. The meeting was chaired by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma.
Meanwhile, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh is holding an all-party meeting to review the situation.
The meeting follows violence that erupted in the immediate aftermath of inter-community clashes in a few districts of the northeastern State amid protests against the inclusion of the majority Meitei community in the Scheduled Tribes (ST) category.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)