The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) undergraduate or NEET UG 2024 for over 24 lakh candidates across 4,750 centres on May 5. Although the results for the same were expected to be announced on June 14, they were declared ten days prior before the schedule on June 4. The NEET UG 2024 results have sparked a controversy due to an unusually high number of candidates achieving a perfect score of 720/720 amid allegations of paper leak and improper awarding of grace marks. As many as 67 students have been awarded the perfect score. Six of these candidates who secured the top rank wrote the exam from the same center in Haryana.
Compared to the previous years, only two or three candidates were able to achieve full marks in the medical entrance exam. This was the first time in history that so many candidates achieved 100 per cent marks. In 2023, only two medical aspirants were able to achieve full marks in the exam, whereas a year before that in 2022, nobody had a perfect score. Moreover, some students were awarded 718 or 719 marks. This is impossible due to the NEET marking scheme because there are four marks for a correct answer and one mark for a wrong answer. If a question is not attempted by the candidate, then no mark will be rewarded for it.
Amid the ongoing row over the NEET-UG examination results, the NTA on June 12, released answers to various questions raised by students regarding NEET 2024 result controversy, especially on areas of multiple toppers, grace marks, paper leak, and more. Moreover, in a Supreme Court hearing on June 13, the NTA proposed a re-exam of the 1,563 students who were awarded grace marks due to loss of time at the exam centres to ensure fairness and integrity in the exam result process. As per media reports, the re-exam of 1,563 candidates will be conducted on June 23 and the result will be declared before June 30 and counselling will take place on July 6.
The controversy surrounding the NEET-UG has unveiled significant concerns about the NTA’s handling of the process. The Education Ministry has set up a four-member expert panel headed by a former UPSC chairman to review the entire matter. Many students have placed their trust in the NTA, only to feel betrayed. In order to re-instill confidence among students, all their concerns should be addressed with fairness and equity. The deeper flaws within the system need to be rectified since the integrity of this examination is crucial for the future of medical professionals in India. The government should ensure that no malpractice is tolerated and accountability in the NTA should be fixed if any lapses are found.
