NEET-UG exam outrage in India: Leak allegations, protests, grace marks; all you need to know

Every year, millions of Indian students who aspire to become doctors give the highly competitive National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

NEET is a standardised examination for students who are looking for admissions in undergraduate medical and dental courses in government and private institutions. The exam evaluates students' knowledge in subjects such as Physics, Chemistry, and Biology, determining their eligibility and ranking for entry into MBBS, BDS, and other related courses.

However, this year, a record 67 candidates secured the first All India Rank according to the National Testing Agency (NTA). This raised suspicion among students as last year, only two candidates managed to score the coveted rank. Students created an uproar online and protests were held.

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Here is the everything you need to know about the NEET-UG row:

What caused the initial uproar?

A total of 2.038 million students registered for the exam, out of which 1.145 million candidates qualified. The result was announced and 67 students achieved an All India Rank (AIR) 1.

Following the announcement, concern grew over the record number of toppers and candidates scoring 718 and 719 marks. 'Massive irregularities' were reported during exams and students were afraid of the impact this result will have on cut-offs and admission criteria.

Why were marks inflated for some?

When asked about the record number of students getting perfect 720 marks, a senior NTA official said: "There was a question that had two right answers as per the change in the NCERT book. Two of the options given were marked correct by NCERT in their old and new books. Two options are declared correct from the original one answer in NEET UG 2024, and the marks of as many as 44 candidates got increased to 720 from 715."

Another issue raised by students was that the second highest score achievable was 716, however, some students got 718 and 719 marks. The NTA official said candidates who reported losing time during NEET have been given grace marks.

"NTA received few representations and court cases from the candidates of NEET (UG) 2024 raising concerns of loss of time during the conduct of the examination on May 5, 2024. Such cases/representations were considered by the NTA, and the normalisation formula, which has been devised and adopted by the Honourable Apex Court, vide its judgement dated June 13, 2018, was implemented to address the loss of time faced by the candidates of NEET (UG) 2024," the NTA said in a statement.

Committee set up to review

The Indian Medical Association Junior Doctors Network demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the NEET exam. After which, the National Testing Agency set up a committee to review the grace marks awarded to students.

Refuting claims of the NEET paper leak, the NTA official said that a background check has also been done on the NEET UG 2024 toppers.

"The integrity of this examination was not compromised throughout the country. There was no paper leak. The whole exam process has been very transparent," the Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), Subodh Kumar Singh said in a press conference.

Supreme Court hears petitions, issues notice

The Supreme Court on June 18 issued a notice to the National Testing Agency on pleas seeking fresh NEET-UG, 2024 examination amid allegations of paper leak. It said the "sanctity" of the exam has been affected and it needs an answer from the testing agency.

"It is not that simple that because you have done it is sacrosanct. Sanctity has been affected, so we need answers," a vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah told NTA.

Advocate Mathews J Nedumpara, appearing for the petitioners, urged the bench to stay the counselling process. The apex court, however, refused to stay the counselling process and posted the case for hearing on July 8. "Let the counselling start, we are not stopping the counselling," the bench remarked.

The Supreme Court was hearing petitions seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG exam over alleged paper leak and other irregularities.

A number of petitions were filed in the apex court seeking direction to recall results and to conduct the examination afresh.

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