The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday clarified after reports that a Nagpur-based candidate appearing for the NEET-UG 2026 reexamination was allotted an exam center in Abu Dhabi due to a technical error.The agency said in a statement that its records do not support the claim that the system generated an error. According to the NTA, the city change to Abu Dhabi was made through the candidate’s own registration login during the exam city correction window that reopened after the exam was rescheduled.The NTA said its network activity records showed the city change was made using the candidate’s credentials and followed a “consistent single-user access pattern.” It also said the test center in Abu Dhabi was visited twice after the changes.“NTA observed that on three occasions, one of which was to use the candidate’s credentials to change the center to Abu Dhabi and twice to preview the center as Abu Dhabi,” the agency said.The clarification comes in the wake of reports about Nagpur candidate Abdullah Mohammad Talib, whose admit card reportedly showed Abu Dhabi Indian School in the UAE as his examination venue. The family claimed they never chose Abu Dhabi when filling out the application form and called the allocation shocking.Mohammad Talib, the candidate’s father, told ANI that the family contacted the NTA helpline after seeing the admit card and requested to be allotted a center in Nagpur. He also said that his son did not have a passport and was distressed after learning about the allocation of overseas centers.The NTA said it received an informal request for a change from Abu Dhabi to Nagpur on the evening of June 19, about 48 hours before the exam. The agency said its officials immediately began the process and contacted the candidate’s father that evening to help complete the required paperwork.“While NTA has agreed to the applicant’s request and has taken action to change the centre,” the agency said.The testing body added that its priority is to ensure that no candidate misses the exam due to administrative issues.
