NEET-UG row: IIT Madras report finds no ’malpractice’, says Patna centre shows ‘negative trend’ in ranking; details here

New Delhi: Patna, where the CBI is carrying out an investigation, shows a negative trend in the NEET-UG ranking of candidates, suggests an IIT Madras report.

An affidavit submitted by the Centre to the Supreme Court regarding the ongoing NEET-UG controversy, a copy of which has been seen by the Mint, shows that IIT Madras has suggested that had there been localised malpractices, Patna would have had a much higher number of candidates clearing the exam and securing higher ranks.

A city-wise and centre-wise analysis was done for two years (2023 and 2024) to find out if there were any abnormal indications. The analysis is carried out for the top 1.4 lakh ranks given that the total number of seats across the country is around 1.1 lakh. For performing this analysis, IIT Madras used Python for data processing, PostgreSQL for data storage and Metabase for analysis.

The report stated that Patna, where it was alleged that a question paper had been leaked, has only two people in the top 100, with an increase of only one candidate compared to 2023. Further, the IIT Madras report, which compares students' ranking in the categories of top 500, 1,000, 5,000 and 60,000, shows that there has been quite a dip in the number of candidates clearing NEET-UG 2024 compared to 2023.

In Patna, five students secured rank in the top 500 in 2023; it is four this year. Similarly, the report found that amongst the top 1,000, the Patna centre had 14 candidates in 2023, which is 12 in 2024. In the top 5,000, there were 118 candidates from Patna in 2023, which has come down to 78 this year, whereas amongst the top 60,000, the number of candidates getting rank was 1,993 last year, which has dropped down to 1,561 this year.

“In Patna, the city in which the CBI is carrying out the investigation, the number has reduced in comparison with 2023. The above analysis clearly shows that there is no significant spike in the number of toppers in a given city,” the report stated. 

The IIT Madras study emphasised that the Patna centre was showing a negative trend. It observed that if there had been localised malpractices, the number should have been much larger.

The report further suggested that there has been an increase in centres from Sikar and Kota in Rajasthan and Kottayam in Kerala. This is attributed to the many coaching classes, which could be the primary reason.

There has been quite a rise in the number of candidates securing marks ranging between 700 and 720. While the figure was 99 candidates in 2022, it has increased to 350 in 2023 and to 2,321 this year. The data shows that there has been a 2244 per cent jump this year as compared to 2022. Similarly, the number of candidates getting marks between 650 and 699 this year is 27,885 whereas it was 6,939 last year and 4,583 in 2022.

However, according to the Centre's affidavit, the analysis shows that there is neither any indication of mass malpractice nor a localised set of candidates being benefitted leading to abnormal scores. There is an overall increase in the marks obtained by students, specifically in the range of 550 to 720. This increase is seen across the cities and centres. This is attributed to a 25 per cent reduction in syllabus. In addition, candidates obtaining such high marks are spread across multiple cities and multiple centres, indicating a very low likelihood of malpractice.

The Supreme Court, on Thursday, July 11, adjourned the hearing of the petitions seeking the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam and has scheduled the matter for the next hearing on July 18.

In order to give the petitioners time to submit their answers to the affidavits that the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Centre filed on July 10, Wednesday, the Court granted the adjournment. The cases were originally scheduled to be listed on Monday, July 15, by the bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud; however, Solicitor General (SG) of India Tushar Mehta cited a personal matter. The SG announced that he will not be available on Monday and Tuesday, nor will the Attorney General. The Court then moved the cases to next Thursday because Muharram falls on Wednesday of next week.

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is hearing a series of petitions concerning the controversial NEET-UG 2024 medical entrance exam on Thursday. These include pleas alleging irregularities and malpractices during the May 5 test and seeking a fresh examination. During a previous hearing on July 8, the Supreme Court said that the integrity of NEET-UG 2024 had been compromised.

In a separate petition, filed on Wednesday, the Centre said that the Ministry of Education has asked IIT Madras to perform extensive data analytics of the NEET-UG 2024 candidates' results in accordance with the Supreme Court's orders. On Wednesday, the Centre notified the Supreme Court that there was no proof of widespread cheating or of certain candidate groups illegally profiting from anomalous NEET-UG 2024 ratings.

In their affidavit, the NTA claims that the video purporting to display a picture of the NEET UG exam paper that was posted on Telegram on May 4 was a fake.

The government clarified that if it turned out that some candidates had benefited from unethical behaviour, the distribution of seats would be contingent upon when those seats would be cancelled. In the first and second rounds of counselling, candidates are typically permitted to switch seats based on the options they have chosen. If a cancellation is made prior to the third round, which is anticipated to begin in the second week of September, it will not affect the counselling process as a whole or the distribution of seats. It further stated that the timestamp had been tampered with to provide the impression of an early leak.

The open seats may still be offered in the following round if a candidate withdraws after the third round. According to the administration, candidates who were already given seats in the previous rounds would not be eligible to run in the next round. The Centre stated that if a candidate withdraws their candidacy after the completion of four rounds, the open seats may be used for further rounds of counselling.