A candidate of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Under Graduate (NEET-UG) who was forced to strip before entering the exam centre in Kerala last month will get a fresh opportunity to take the test.

The decision has been taken by the health ministry and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the test, a health ministry official said.

On July 17, the student was allegedly asked to strip at the test centre in Kollam. After the student complained about it, the state government took up the issue with the Union education ministry, which asked the NTA to set up a fact-finding committee. The committee is yet to submit its report.

“The fact-finding committee is a separate exercise. Action will be taken in accordance with its findings. As the student was affected by the alleged incident, it was decided to give a fresh opportunity,” the official said.

The test, to be held on September 4, will be conducted at five other centres where students had complained about their exam being affected. These centres are Bhind and Hosangabad in Madhya Pradesh, Kushi Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, and Nagaur and Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan. The NTA is yet to reveal the nature of the complaints.

The NEET results will be published on September 7. Nearly 18.72 lakh candidates have appeared in the NEET-UG test this year. The NTA will upload the provisional answer keys on the website by August 30. Candidates can challenge an answer key by paying Rs 200 per answer.

There are nearly 85,000 MBBS seats in over 500 institutions in the country.