Mumbai: Students across Mumbai appeared for the NEET re-examination amid heavy security deployment and tight monitoring at centres on Sunday. For a majority of students, physics was the toughest and lengthiest section, with many categorising the overall paper as ‘moderate’ to ‘difficult’.Unlike the May 3 examination, students found the re-test more challenging and requiring more ‘conceptual depth’. Based on initial feedback from students, coaching experts expect cut-offs to be lower this year. They estimate that admissions to govt medical colleges under the all-India general category quota could close at around 590-600 marks, while in Maharashtra, the closing score for government medical colleges is likely to be in the range of 520-530 marks.While many students and parents felt that the exam centres were better prepared for the re-test, some complained about power outages, inadequate knowledge among invigilators and stringent measures by centres, as opposed to some relaxations offered by the National Testing Agency (NTA).At a few centres, students who turned up late were not allowed inside the exam centre. At a college in Parel, a few parents staged a protest after two students were not allowed to enter the centre after they arrived late. In another centre in Trombay, five students were not allowed for showing up late. At a Chembur centre, students reported a power outage for an hour and a half after the exam commenced, inconveniencing students. The college did not have a power back-up, said a parent.Dr Keyur Cholera, from a coaching institute in the city, said the unexpectedly tough and analytical physics section caught students off guard. “This is not a JEE (Advanced) paper. After a relatively easy paper on May 3, students were surprised by the difficulty level in Physics during the re-test. They are already exhausted and are reappearing, despite not being at fault. The NTA could have increased the difficulty level of biology instead,” he said.He added that the tougher paper is likely to lower cut-offs, estimating Mumbai’s govt medical colleges to close at around 580-585 marks and the state-level cut-off at 520-530 marks.Nabin Karaki, national academic director-medical, at a leading coaching institute, in a statement, said that the exam demanded rigorous analytical preparation over quick memory recall. “Application-driven numerical problems created intense time pressure for students… Owing to the restrictive calculation demands in physics and chemistry alongside localised subject ambiguities, the all-India quota general cut-off for govt seats is expected to experience a downward correction, settling down to 590-600 marks,” he said.Parent representative Sudha Shenoy said that of the 22.5 lakh students, 18-19 lakh may have attempted the exam, rest may have taken alternative courses by now due to the leak and re-exam.
