The NEET UG 2024 results declared on June 4 have triggered widespread controversy, with allegations of irregularities and demands for a re-examination echoing across the country.
Over 24 lakh candidates across 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 overseas venues, took the National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) examination.
When the National Testing Agency (NTA) unveiled the results, a staggering 67 students had secured the top rank, including six from the same examination centre in Haryana.
This immediately led to allegations of inflation of marks.
Numerous aspirants also pointed out the plausibility of achieving scores of 718 or 719, considering the maximum possible score in the exam is 720, and the next achievable score is 716 because each question carries 4 marks.
Denying charges of wrongdoing, the NTA said the high scores were due to changes in NCERT textbooks and grace marks were given to compensate for time lost during the examination.
The agency clarified the decision to grant grace marks was based on a normalisation formula endorsed by the Supreme Court in 2018.
An official clarification by NTA read, "The concerns raised by the candidates through the writ petitions and representations about loss of examination time was ascertained and 1,563 candidates were compensated for the loss of time, and the revised marks of such candidates vary from -20 to 720 marks. Amongst these, the score of two candidates also happens to be 718 and 719 respectively due to compensatory marks."
On analysing CCTV camera footage, it was ascertained that the integrity of the examination was not compromised, an official asserted.
However, despite the NTA's explanations, discontent continues to simmer among students and parents. Of particular concern is the discovery that students with consecutive roll numbers obtained identical marks, prompting speculation about potential irregularities in the evaluation process.