On NEET row, Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose says ’one-size-fits-all solution leading to erosion of systems’

Rajya MP from the Trinamool Congress Sagarika Ghose reacted to the NEET row, saying that "the obsession with a one-size-fits-all solution is leading to erosion of systems."

Her statement came as the ruling NDA government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) faced criticism over the alleged irregularities surrounding this year's NEET-UG exam. This resulted in several protests across the country, with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.

In the past, the TMC government in West Bengal has also faced several recruitment scams.

Ghose reacted to the issue in an interview with the Hindustan Times, saying that the trick to deal with such situations lies in hiring professionals to run these institutions.

"Also excessive centralisation and the 'obsession' with one size fits all solution is leading to erosion of systems," the Rajya Sabha MP was quoted as saying.

As per the report, Ghose said she aims to form a coalition of strong women opposition leaders in the Parliament to corner the government very early in its third term.

NEET row

The NEET examination was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres and around 24 lakh candidates appeared for the exam. The results were expected to be declared on June 14 but were announced on June 4, apparently because the evaluation of the answer sheets was completed earlier.

As many as 67 students scored a perfect 720, unprecedented in the NTA's history. Six of them were from a centre in Haryana's Faridabad figuring. This raised suspicions about irregularities. It was alleged that grace marks contributed to 67 students sharing the top rank.

The Supreme Court Friday refused to defer the NEET-UG counselling process, scheduled to kick off on July 6, saying it is not an "open and shut" exercise, even as the political pot kept boiling over the controversy-ridden exam with the opposition attacking the Centre over alleged paper leak and other irregularities.

The NEET-UG examination is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.