Even though the National Testing Agency (NTA) claimed that the integrity of the NEET-UG exam was not compromised despite allegations of irregularities and inflated marks, the NTA on Thursday said that a retest of all the 1,563 candidates who received grace marks in the exam, will be held on June 23.
What happened?
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exam results raised questions after as many as 67 students scored a perfect 720. Six students from a centre in Haryana’s Faridabad allegedly figure in the list.
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Why were students awarded grace marks?
– Students from at least six centres in Meghalaya, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Surat and Chandigarh had complained about the loss of time during the exams allegedly due to administrative reasons
– According to officials, grace marks were awarded to 1,563 candidates to compensate for the loss of time in line with the Supreme Court-approved formula.
– Out of the 67 candidates who got 720 out of 720 marks, 44 are on account of the revision in one Answer Key of Physics, and six are on account of compensatory marks for loss of time.
What Centre told SC
The Centre told the Supreme Court that it has cancelled the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates who took the examination for admission to MBBS and other such courses.
What Apex Court said
– The apex court noted that the sanctity of NEET-UG, 2024, was affected and has refused to stay the counselling process for admissions.
Refusing to stall the counselling for NEET-UG, 2024, scheduled to commence from July 6, the justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta made it clear that the admission of successful candidates to medical colleges and other institutions will be subject to the outcome of the petitions which have sought reliefs like cancellation of the examination held on May 5 on grounds of question paper leak and other malpractices, reported PTI.
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What the bench noted
– The results of the affected candidates who do not wish to appear for the re-examination will be declared on their actual marks without compensation obtained by them in the examination held on May 5.
– The marks obtained by the candidates who will appear in the retest will be considered, and their marks based on the examination held on May 5, 2024, will be discarded.
What NTA said
“Subsequent to the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s Observations on the Report of NTA’s High Powered Committee, the grace / compensatory marks awarded to all 1563 students stand withdrawn. A re-test of all the 1563 candidates will be held on 23rd June 2024,” the NTA said.
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Options to 1,563 students
– The students who got grace marks will have the option to either take a re-test or forgo the compensatory marks awarded to them for loss of time.
– The re-test for these candidates which will be conducted on June 23.
– A notification to this effect will be issued.
– The score-cards of the affected 1,563 candidates issued on June 4, 2024, will stand cancelled and withdrawn.
– The NTA will contact all the 1,563 candidates via email to notify them about the re-examination.
– The results of the re-test will be declared on June 30 and the counselling for admissions to MBBS, BDS, and other courses will start on July 6.
Politics over NEET row
The Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT), among others, demanded an investigation and decisive action against those responsible over discrepancies in the NEET examination results.
“Our systems need to stand the test of time and scrutiny. Also need to investigate how the paper was leaked as alleged by Bihar Police,” said Priyanka Chaturvedi in a post on X.
The Congress has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the NEET exam issue.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that in the last 10 years, the Modi government has ruined the future of crores of youth through paper leaks and rigging.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also hit out at the government, saying the “one-third padhan mantri’s” government has tried to wriggle its way out of the simmering NEET controversy and scam.
Education Minister slams Congress
In the NEET exam case, NTA is committed to take appropriate action by following the instructions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court. As per the instructions of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the examination of 1,563 students will be conducted again. Playing politics over the future of students is an old habit of Congress. Instead of making political gains, Congress should contribute to the development of India, said Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
