NEET-UG Row: Days have passed since the NEET-UG (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test) 2024 exams were thrust under intense scrutiny over alleged paper leaks, malpractices, and discrepancies, but the situation is becoming increasingly tangled, with new political links cropping up.
Soon after the results were declared on June 4, the anomaly of a whooping 67 candidates getting the perfect score of 720/720 raised eyebrows. As the saying goes, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” the candidates started questioning the sanctity of the test, and petitions were filed in the Supreme Court to investigate the claims and conduct a re-examination. Here are the top developments in the NEET-UG 2024 Row:
Rahul Gandhi Slams Modi Over NEET Issue
On the NEET issue and the UGC-NET exam cancellation, Congress MP Rahul Gandhi held a press conference in which he called out Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government for failing to ensure the future of the students in the country.
Taking a dig at Modi, Gandhi said that it was said that the Prime Minister stopped the war in Ukraine and halted the conflict in Gaza, but for some reason he is unable to stop the paper leaks in the country. He added, “Educational institutions are captured by the RSS-BJP; paper leaks will not stop unless that is reversed.”
He assured that the Congress party would raise this matter in parliament.
Rahul Gandhi said, “This is extremely damaging to students, and this is happening because all our institutions have been captured; our VCs are placed not based on merit, but they belong to a particular organisation, and this organisation and the BJP have penetrated our education system and destroyed it.”
He asserted that PM Narendra Modi has psychologically collapsed and will struggle to run a government like this.
Political Upheaval In Bihar
Bihar’s economic offences unit (EOU) has established a special investigation team (SIT) to prove the paper leak allegations that prompted the arrests of 13 individuals, including candidates and parents. The SIT has not eliminated the suggestion of a possible paper leak.
Adding to the drama, the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar has levelled allegations against Pritam Kumar, the personal secretary of Tejashwi Yadav, accusing him of arranging accommodations for Sikander Kumar Yadavendu, the alleged mastermind behind the NEET question paper leak.
As per the confessions made by one of the four men in custody, the question paper was leaked 24 hours prior to the exam. The four arrested individuals include NEET candidate Anurag Yadav, his uncle Sikandar Yadavendu, and two others named Nitish Kumar and Amit Anand. According to Yadav, his uncle provided him with the leaked paper, which contained identical questions to those on the exam.
The authorities are also investigating two exam centres in Godhra, Gujarat, for allegedly assisting in filling out the correct choices on OMR sheets.
Supreme Court Weighing Options
The Supreme Court issued a notice in response to a petition by the National Testing Agency (NTA) requesting the transfer of cases concerning the NEET-UG 2024 examination from various High courts to the apex court. A bench led by Justice Vikram Nath also halted proceedings in different high courts.
The court emphasised that it would allow the counselling process to continue uninterrupted.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the hearing on these matters for July 8.
NTA’s Response: Reverse Grace Marks Decision Amid Protests
The NTA quashed any claims of paper leaks; they also attributed the increased number of perfect scores to the grace marks that were given to 1,563 candidates. However, after the protests started raging, the NTA scrapped the provision of grace marks and announced a re-exam for those candidates.
On June 13, the Centre and the National Testing Agency informed the Supreme Court that they had revoked the additional marks awarded to 1,563 candidates who had appeared for the MBBS and similar course entrance examinations. The candidates were offered the choice to either retake the test or let go of the compensatory marks provided to them due to the time loss, as stated by the Centre.
