Amid NEET 2024 Controversy, CLAT ad goes viral- says 'Think Beyond NEET'
New Delhi: Amid the controversy regarding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) exam results, an advertisement for a coaching centre for Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) exam has gone viral.
Advising the candidates to think beyond the medical entrance exam, the ad encouraged them to consider preparing for the CLAT exam, instead of NEET (the medical entrance exam) or IIT-JEE (the engineering entrance exam).
"Disappointed with NEET result? Think Beyond NEET/IIT-JEE", said the ad. It further mentioned, "Think CLAT. 5 Year LAW from NLUs."
Addressing the issue, the concerned coaching centre mentioned in an X (formerly Twitter) post, "Is NEET the only career option? With so much competition, why put all the pressure on one exam? Our viral ad emphasizes multiple paths: IPMAT for IIMs, CUET, CLAT for law, and civil services after graduation. Let's rethink the burden on students!"
The ad received some negative reviews. Addressing the coaching institute, an X (formerly Twitter) user wrote, "This ad of yours is in very bad taste. Copywriters need to be very mindful of the current situation. Students are not disappointed by NEET results; they are disappointed by the way the exam is conducted."
"The way you are justifying the ad shows a lack of empathy. Suggesting that students should consider more options rather than focusing on one exam because there is too much competition? Really? If the copy had read "Think beyond NEET | IIT JEE," it would have been fine. But..our current copy mocks students' efforts and struggles. It's crucial to support students during these challenging times, not undermine their hard work and dedication. Please reconsider your messaging," added the X post.
Calling it a marketing strategy on the part of the coaching institute, another X user mentioned in a post,"bruh? marketing koi clat walo sey seekhein."
This ad comes in the middle of the ongoing controversy concerning the NEET UG 2024 exam. At first, the allegations of paper leak came to light and later when the National Testing Agency (NTA) released the results of NEET UG 2024 exam, it shocked several candidates.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that this year altogether 67 candidates secured the All India Rank 1. Some of the candidates secured 718 or 719 marks out of 720 marks, which is impossible when the NEET marking scheme is taken into account. As per the marking scheme, a candidate gets 4 marks for a right answer and 1 mark gets deducted for one wrong answer. Therefore, if a candidate leaves one question unanswered, he/she will get 716 marks and if he/she gives wrong answer to a question, the secured marks would be 715.
Earlier, NTA justified the scorecards by stating that several candidates were given grace marks to compensate for loss of time during the exam. Following this, further questions were raised, RTI application was filed seeking details of the number of candidates who received grace marks and the rules applied by NTA for providing the grace marks.
Plea in HC & Supreme Court:
Earlier a plea was filed before the Patna HC seeking a CBI investigation into the irregularities in NEET UG 2024 results. Several pleas have been filed before the Supreme Court as well. The first plea demanded a fresh NEET-UG 2024 examination and a stay on publication of the results. While the Apex Court agreed to consider the matter, it denied granting a stay on the publication of NEET results.
In June itself three more pleas were filed in this connection. A plea was filed on June 9 by by persons hailing from Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The petitioners belong to SIO and claimed to work for the benefit of the students. Filing the plea, they have also sought a stay on the NEET-UG 2024 counselling until the completion of the investigation into the alleged question paper leak. They also prayed to the Court to set up a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged malpractices in the conduct of the exam.
It highlighted the alleged arbitrariness of the grant of grace marks. Further referring to the fact hat several students secured 718 and 719 marks out of 720 marks, the petitioners have contended that it was "statistically impossible".
Meanwhile, while considering a plea alleging various irregularities in the NEET 2024 examination, the Calcutta High Court has ordered the National Testing Agency (NTA) to file an affidavit within 10 days in response.
Govt Constitutes Panel:
Amid this uproar, NTA informed during the Press Conference on Saturday that the Education Ministry has formed a panel to reassess the results of more than 1,600 students who received grace marks in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 exams.
A former UPSC Chairperson will chair this four-member panel and this committee will examine the potential discrepancies in the undergraduate medical entrance examination.
Supreme Court's Observations:
Yesterday, while considering the plea alleging paper leak and re-exam of NEET 2024, the Supreme Court issued notice to the National Testing Agency. Seeking the agency's response in the matter, the bench strongly observed, "Sanctity has been affected, so we need answers."
