The National Eligibility Entrance Test, or NEET, is a nationwide medical entrance test carried out by the National Testing Agency, an autonomous physique below India’s Department of Higher Education.
NEET UG is the undergraduate examination for admission to medical programs resembling Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery, and Bachelor of Dental Surgery, and NEET PG is the postgraduate test for Doctor of Medicine and Master of Surgery programs.
The NEET UG outcomes, declared on June 4 – the identical day as India’s election outcomes – noticed an unprecedented 67 college students obtain All India Rank One, in contrast to the earlier norm of solely two to 3 college students scoring an ideal 720 marks within the examination.
Though the nation’s Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan attributed the phenomenon to syllabus cuts and extra registered candidates, 2.4 million college students in 2024 in comparison with two million in 2023, questions had been raised after six of those with the perfect score had been discovered to be from the identical examination centre within the North Indian state of Haryana.
Moreover, a complete of 44 college students among the many good scorers noticed their marks increase from 715 to 720 because the Chemistry examination had two appropriate choices for a query based mostly on NCERT books, that are used as studying materials by thousands and thousands of college, faculty, and undergraduate college students throughout India.
A complete of 1,563 college students have been given ‘grace marks’ – awarded as compensation for misplaced time – inflating a lot of their scores with some receiving 650-680 marks, which may result in an much more aggressive setting for an estimated 110,000 medical training seats throughout India.
Though the Indian authorities has maintained that the ‘integrity of NEET examinations has not been compromised’, it informed India’s apex court docket about its choice to cancel the scorecards of hundreds of scholars, who obtained ‘grace marks’.
With the Supreme Court urging the Centre to supply these college students with an choice to take the retest, the NEET UG 2024 examination will likely be reorganised for hundreds of candidates. Results for which will likely be introduced on June 30 earlier than the annual counselling course of, which allocates seats for college students based mostly on their decisions and ranks, begins on July 6.
But some college students aren’t supportive of the choice.
“Many of us were provided with the wrong question papers at the start of the exam and chose one of the two correct options in the Physics and Chemistry papers which led to the grace marks. To give the retest again has led to a lot of pressure as, based on its new structure, we might not be able to score high marks,” mentioned Aarav Kumar, who scored 715/720 because of the further marks awarded to him.
Grace marks aren’t the one concern, as stories of paper leaks, a standard incidence in India prior to now few years because of cases of high-level corruption and bribery, have additionally discovered their method within the NEET UG controversy.
In the state of Bihar, the Economic Offences Unit arrested 13 folks, together with 4 candidates, on Monday for his or her involvement in an alleged paper leak, whereas the Gujarat police arrested 5 people for demanding INR 5 lakhs (£4,710) in trade for solutions being crammed up by lecturers at an examination centre.
In mild of pleas alleging leaks and malpractices, the SC issued notices to NTA and the central authorities looking for their motion within the matter.
“Even if there is 0.001 percent negligence on the part of anyone, it should be thoroughly dealt with,” mentioned a bench of SC Justices whereas listening to the pleas earlier than them.
PhysicsWallah, which has emerged as considered one of India’s most outstanding edtech startups rivalling Byju’s, has additionally waded into the controversy with its co-founder Alakh Pandey submitting a public curiosity litigation demanding an investigation into the irregularities.
According to Pandey, NTA’s contrasting statements on the conduct of NEET UG 2024 make it tough to imagine them.
“If the NTA said in its own May 5 notice, when the exams were conducted, that everything happened promptly, why did they admit on June 6 that loss of time happened in some centres? That too after students raised issues,” mentioned Pandey.
“Students have maintained that grace marks to 1563 students alone cannot lead to such inflated ranks. NTA’s answers don’t satisfy them,” he added
Pandey additionally means that SC keep the counselling course of “to maintain the integrity of the admission process pending resolution of this grave matter”,one thing the highest court docket has already refused to order.
Allegations of dishonest and fraud have additionally hampered the credibility of NEET UG, as police have arrested three folks in Delhi and 6 in Rajasthan for allegedly impersonating test candidates and writing the medical entrance on their behalf.
Students have maintained that grace marks to 1563 college students alone can’t result in such inflated ranks
Alakh Pandey, PhysicsWallah
With recent petitions being filed looking for cancellation of NEET UG 2024, the Supreme Court is ready to conduct a listening to on July 8 into the matter. The central authorities is anticipated to follow the directives of the court docket, even when it requires conducting a re-examination for all 2.4 million candidates.
The aftermath of the NEET UG outcomes comes simply days after PM Narendra Modi was sworn into workplace a 3rd time with a diminished majority, one thing the Opposition INDIA bloc led by the Indian National Congress has taken benefit of.
While INC chief Rahul Gandhi, usually touted because the Opposition’s PM face, questioned the Prime Minister’s silence, Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man’s Party) has indicated a broader NEET rip-off and organised protests in Mumbai and Delhi calling for a ‘court-monitored’ unbiased investigation.
“We are demanding a ban on NTA and a CBI inquiry against the irregularities, paper leaks, and corruption. If the demands are not met, our student union will gherao (a term for industrial action by labour unions and activists) the parliament on June 24,” mentioned Varun Choudhary, President of the Congress-affiliated scholar wing National Students Union of India.
