Amidst the fervor of the Lok Sabha election results, the National Testing Agency (NTA) released the results of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET UG) on June 4.
The NEET-UG exam is a pivotal assessment for securing admission to medical, dental, and AYUSH courses at both government and private institutions across India.
Approximately 2.4 million candidates participated in the NEET UG test held on May 5 across 571 cities, including 14 centers outside India. The exam sought to fill the 1,08,940 available MBBS seats distributed among more than 700 medical institutions nationwide.
The revelation of the results garnered immediate attention due to an unusual occurrence—67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 out of 720, securing the perfect rank AIR 1. Moreover, discrepancies emerged concerning individuals who obtained marks of 718 or 719, with skeptics deeming such scores implausible within the exam's framework.
Petitions and pleas filed
In response to these concerns, legal challenges have arisen, with two petitions filed in different High Courts contesting the validity of the results. Notably, a plea was lodged in the Supreme Court on June 1, urging a reevaluation of the examination, citing suspicions of a leaked question paper.
This comes after the Supreme Court had previously refused to halt the publication of the results while considering a similar plea last month.
8 AIR-1 students from same centre
In a startling revelation, it was found that eight of these candidates who scored the All India Rank 1 are from the same examination centre in Haryana, with their sequence numbers being the same.
Parents of some of the protesting kids filed a complaint with Additional Deputy Commissioner Jind, asking a probe into the alleged anomalies in the NEET examination. "I filed a formal complaint with the local authority after noticing eight toppers from the same center in Jhajjar (Haryana). Some students from the centre were given grace marks, which makes the news suspicious," stated Dr Krishan Sharma.
The NCERT book controversy
The announcement of 67 examinees securing the top spot in the exam raised numerous eyebrows. Among them, 44 of the top scorers reportedly answered a basic physics question incorrectly, gaining extra marks due to an error in an older version of the NCERT Class 12 textbook.
In response to challenges against the provisional answer key released on May 29, over 13,000 candidates disputed the key's accuracy, citing conflicting information in the textbooks. The NTA opted not to penalise these students, emphasising the importance of relying solely on NCERT textbooks for NEET preparation.
Moreover, the NTA disclosed that due to a surge in candidates compared to the previous year, the 2024 NEET exam witnessed an increase in high scores. The agency defended the perceived ease of this year's exam compared to preceding years.
The 718 and 719 confusion
Instances of candidates scoring 718 and 719 were justified by the NTA as compensatory marks awarded to individuals who faced time constraints during the exam at certain centers. Grievances regarding insufficient time allocation were addressed by a committee of experts, determining the compensation based on the candidates' answering efficiency and time loss.
A paper leak?
Accusations of a leaked question paper in Patna were strongly denied by the NTA. While investigations into the matter are ongoing, arrests related to impersonation were made, emphasizing the agency's cooperation with the authorities.
The NTA, however, has adamantly refuted any rumours of NEET UG 2024 question paper leaks amid these disputes. The organisation has disregarded unfounded rumours spreading on social media concerning tampered exam papers. The NTA claims that these reports are untrue and that the examination procedure was safe and impartial.
A peculiar incident in Sawai Madhopur led to some Hindi-medium students receiving English-medium question papers unknowingly, prompting a walkout during the exam.
Early exam results, increased cutoff
The NTA justified the early release of results by emphasising their commitment to swiftly processing outcomes post-answer key challenges, noting the quick turnaround for other examinations as well.
Rising cutoff scores were attributed to the greater number of participants achieving heightened performance levels this year, underscoring the competitive nature of the examination. The surge in registrations, with a record 23.81 lakh students signing up for NEET UG, likely contributed to the elevated cutoff marks observed in the 2024 edition.