NEET Exam Row: Students demand transparency after inflated marks charges, HC hearing | Top 11 updates

NEET Exam Row: Several NEET aspirants have alleged that marks were inflated, resulting in a record 67 candidates achieving the top rank, six of whom were from the same exam centre, according to a PTI report.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), however, has refuted allegations of irregularities. They attributed the high scores to changes in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks awarded for time lost at examination centres.

On June 5 evening, the NTA announced the NEET results, revealing that 67 students shared the top rank, including six from a single examination centre in Haryana.

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Experts suggest that the inflated marks may make securing a spot in medical school more challenging this year. Lawyer Anubha Shrivastava, president of India Wide Parents Association, told PTI they support calls for an investigation. "Several students are raising some valid points. How come students with the same sequence roll number scored the same marks? This is a serious issue. We don't want such doctors to serve our country. This must be investigated," Shrivastava said.

Here is all we know about the issue so far in top 11 updates

• The NEET exam was conducted on May 5 across 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 international locations. According to data from the National Testing Agency (NTA), 23,33,297 candidates appeared for the NEET 2024 exam.
• On the exam day, the NTA reported the distribution of incorrect question papers at a centre in Rajasthan, which led to some candidates walking out with the papers. However, the NTA denied any question paper leaks, reiterating that such claims were baseless and all question papers were accounted for.
• Some students have taken to online platforms to demand the cancellation of results and a re-examination. They have called for a high-level investigation, and many have demanded re-examination and Supreme Court intervention.

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• The NTA explained that they received complaints about the loss of time during the examination. To address this, the NTA implemented a normalisation formula approved by the Supreme Court in 2018. This included compensating candidates with grace marks for the lost time, potentially raising their scores to 718 or 719.
• A senior NTA official explained that some students had old NCERT textbooks while the exam was based on the new textbooks. As a result, five marks were awarded to all students who marked one of two options, increasing some students' scores from 715 to 720 and leading to more top scorers.
• The Delhi High Court vacation bench of Justice DK Sharma has requested the NTA to respond to a petition from a NEET-UG candidate concerning a question in the answer key that had two correct answers. The matter is scheduled to be heard next week.

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• The petitioner, a 17-year-old candidate, claims that equal marks should be given to those who did not attempt the question, as was done for those who answered either of the two correct options. The petitioner scored 633 out of 720 marks, achieving a total percentile of around 98 and an all-India rank close to 44,700. The petition argues that the principle of fairness in competitive exams demands equal evaluation for all candidates. It alleges that awarding marks for two correct options when instructions stated only one correct answer compromised fairness.
• The Congress party raised concerns on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), questioning the credibility of the NEET results. They highlighted the issue of six students from the same centre scoring 720 out of 720 marks and mentioned other alleged irregularities related to the NEET exam. They accused the government of failing to conduct examinations without issues, claiming it endangers the future of many youths.
• Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has demanded action against alleged irregularities in the NEET medical entrance exams. “Why is the government ignoring the voices of lakhs of students? Students want answers to legitimate questions related to the rigging of the NEET exam results. Is it not the government's responsibility to investigate and resolve these legitimate complaints?” she asked.

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• In a post in Hindi on X on June 7, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said the Modi government is “directly responsible” for the issue. He wrote, “Paper leaks, rigging and corruption have become an integral part of many examinations, including NEET. The Modi government is directly responsible for this... We demand that a high-level investigation should be conducted under the supervision of the Supreme Court so that our talented students appearing in NEET and other exams get justice.”
• Congress General Secretary and in-charge of Communications Jairam Ramesh also posted about the issue on X. In a long Hindi post on the platform on June 7, Ramesh demanded clarification from the government on various alleged discrepancies raised in NEET exams. He alleged that this year's NEET paper was leaked, and this issue was suppressed. He raised multiple questions that needed to be answered and asked for a “fair and transparent investigation” to “restore students' faith in the exam.”

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(With inputs from PTI)