Karnataka students who missed the medical entrance examination NEET on May 5 due to a train delay will get another chance, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said on May 6.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) for these students will be conducted on May 20, he said. The decision was taken following a request by Karanataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. "Happy to announce that Karnataka students who missed NEET exam due to railway delay will get another chance," Javadekar tweeted.

Also, in Odisha, where the NEET was postponed in view of the cyclone 'Fani', the exam will be conducted on May 20, he said. In West Bengal's Siliguri, where students at one exam centre couldn't take the test because they didn't get the question paper in the opted language Hindi, the reexamination will be held on the same day, the minister said.

The NEET for admission to medical colleges was held across the country on May 5. But hundreds of students from Karnataka missed the exam as their train reached Bengaluru an hour after the scheduled reporting time for the exam.

Kumaraswamy held a meeting Monday with Chief Secretary T M Vijaya Bhaskar and Higher Education Department officials on the issue and raised the matter with the HRD ministry.

Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda also wrote to Javadekar, seeking an early redress to the students' grievance.



Chief Minister Kumarswamy's office tweeted, "Thank you @PrakashJavdekar and @HRDMinistry for considering the request and helping our students." 

Some reports said over 500 students from various places in North Karnataka districts failed to make it to the exam venue due to a five-hour delay in Hampi Express while the others missed the opportunity due to a change in an exam centre. 

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had tweeted on Sunday highlighting the issue. He had tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his tweet.

The National Testing Agency, which is conducting the NEET the first time, has announced exam centres will remain the same.

"On request of the government of Odisha, in the wake of 'Fani' cyclone the exam for candidates whose centre was in the state was postponed till further notice. It will now be conducted on May 20," an NTA official said.

"The centres for the exam will remain same as announced earlier," the official said.