Several aspirants of the medical entrance exam NEET have alleged inflation of marks.
NEET UG 2024 Result: The National Testing Agency (NTA) announced on Saturday that the education ministry has set up a four-member panel to review the grace marks awarded to more than 1,500 candidates in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam amid the allegations of inflation of marks leading to 67 candidates sharing first rank in the exam.
Panel Headed By Former UPSC Chairman
“The panel headed by a former UPSC chairman will submit its recommendations within a week and the results of these candidates might be revised,” NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh said at a press conference in New Delhi.
“The awarding of grace marks has not impacted the qualifying criteria of the exam and the review of results of the affected candidates will not impact the admission process,” he added.
Alleged Inflation Of Marks
Several aspirants of the medical entrance exam NEET have alleged inflation of marks which led to a record 67 candidates bagging the top rank, including six from the same exam centre.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), however, denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres were some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks.
IMA Junior Doctors Network Demands CBI Inquiry
Earlier, the Indian Medical Association Junior Doctors Network wrote a letter to Pradeep Kumar Joshi, Chairperson, of the National Testing Agency, demanding a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination.
It also requested for a re-examination “to ensure a fair and transparent evaluation process for all the students”.
Delhi High Court Seeks NTA’s Response
Amid extensive discussions surrounding the NEET results controversy, the Delhi High Court (HC) on Friday sought the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) response to a petition filed by a NEET-UG candidate. The candidate’s grievance concerns a question in the answer key that allegedly had two correct answers in the answer key.
As per the news agency PTI report, a vacation bench of Justice D K Sharma asked the NTA’s counsel to seek instructions on the petition, which has prayed that equal marks should be awarded to those who did not attempt the question as has been done for those who attempted either of the two correct answers.
The petition has said the principle of fairness in a competitive examination mandates that all candidates should be evaluated on an equal footing and alleged that the authorities compromised the fairness by awarding marks to two correct options when the instructions had clearly indicated that only one option was correct.
(With PTI inputs)