After the announcement of the NEET UG 2024 results, a significant number of medical aspirants and their parents are raising claims about potential irregularities. The release of the results showed an unprecedented 67 students achieving a perfect score of 720/720, causing widespread concern about a higher cut-off this year. Many students and parents have taken to social media and online forums, demanding a re-examination due to what they call "mark inflation."
A day after the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET-UG) results were published, which declared 67 students with perfect scores sharing the All-India Rank (AIR) 1, many objections were raised. The concerns included glitches in the examination process, potential malpractices, unclear implementation of grace marks, and alleged paper leaks.
The Indian Express reported that out of the 67 top scorers, 44 candidates were awarded grace marks for incorrectly answering a basic physics question. This sparked further suspicion among aspirants, who argued that such high scores are mathematically improbable given the marking system used in NEET.
In response, the National Testing Agency (NTA) issued a statement explaining that they received several complaints and court cases from candidates about losing time during the examination on May 5, 2024. To address these concerns, a normalization formula approved by the Supreme Court was implemented, compensating affected candidates with grace marks.
NTA received few representations and court cases from candidates of NEET (UG) 2024 raising concerns of loss of time during the conduct of the examination on 05.05.2024. The loss of examination time was ascertained and such candidates were compensated with grace marks. So, there marks can be 718 or 719 also.NTA's statement
Despite NTA's explanation, aspirants and their parents remain unconvinced. Sudha Shenoy, a parent and guide for medical aspirants, highlighted that the normalization formula and grace marks policy were not clearly defined in the NEET 2024 information brochure. She noted that the increase in marks has led to panic among students, as the higher cut-off could mean that candidates with scores that secured seats last year might not even get into private medical colleges this year.
Another parent, Brijesh Sutaria, compared the results with previous years, pointing out the unusual spike in perfect scores. He noted that in 2023, only two students scored 720/720, and in 2022, the highest score was 715/720. This year, however, the number of perfect scores has increased, further fuelling doubts about the fairness of the results.
Some students also pointed out that many top scorers had sequential roll numbers, suggesting they might have taken the test at the same exam center. This has added to the suspicion of irregularities.
Additionally, several students stated concerns about the mental and emotional pressure of a re-examination. While some are calling for a protest in Mumbai, others are apprehensive about undergoing the stress of preparing for the exam again.
The NTA has denied any irregularities, attributing the high scores to changes in NCERT textbooks and the implementation of grace marks. They explained that candidates who experienced time loss during the exam were compensated based on a Supreme Court-mandated normalization formula.
Despite these assurances, the outrage among medical aspirants and their parents continues, with many asking for transparency and a re-examination to ensure fairness in the process.
(Inputs from various sources)
(Rehash/ Susmita Bhandary/MSM)