Dayanidhi Maran, the sitting DMK Lok Sabha MP from Chennai Central, on Thursday waded into the ongoing NEET-UG 2024 controversy. Maran brought a North vs South twist to the whole thing. The DMK MP claimed that in southern states, students cannot even carry their belongings inside the exam hall.
He, however, had a different take on how things went on in the northern part of the country. "In North India, students are helped by parents itself to copy. The students are also getting higher marks. We are honest. But today, NEET has become a national issue. People across the country are speaking against NEET now," Maran told India Today.
To expound on his point further, Maran also mentioned the NEET-related suicides that have taken place in Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu. "Young students who specifically come for NEET training die by suicide because of this exam. You know what the BJP government did to solve this problem? They are putting springs in ceiling fans to stop student suicides."
According to Maran, students were allegedly given grace marks as the students could not finish the paper in time. Maran's comment came after the Centre told the Supreme Court that it will cancel the scorecards of 1,563 students who were awarded grace marks in the NEET-UG 2024 exams.
The Centre further said that the affected students will have an opportunity to take a re-test. The students will soon be notified of their revised scores, which will exclude any grace marks awarded previously. The students will have the option to opt for a re-test.
However, results of the students who do not opt for the re-test will be based on the original exam conducted on May 5. The NTA, however, has hinted that a re-test is expected to occur on June 23, with results likely to be out before June 30.
Counselling sessions are set to commence on July 6 following the outcome of the re-test. Moreover, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has refuted allegations of any malpractice in the exam. Pradhan told news agency ANI, "There is no corruption. In connection with NEET examination, 24 lakh students appear in the examination."