Cancelling Grace Marks addresses Only Part of the Issue, What about 24 Lakh Candidates? Doctors Express Concerns over NTA Decision
New Delhi: The National Testing Agency's (NTA) decision to hold optional re-NEET for 1563 affected candidates has upset a section of the medical fraternity who have pointed out that the concerns raised regarding the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 examination is not limited to these 1563 candidates only but it affects around 24 lakh candidates who appeared in the exam.
Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that pleas concerning the NEET UG 2024 issues were listed for hearing before the Supreme Court today. When the bench was considering the issue of granting grace marks to the candidates to compensate for loss of time, the Union Government and NTA informed the bench that they will cancel and withdraw the results of these 1563 candidates prepared based on the compensatory marks awarded to them.
These affected candidates will be notified about their actual scores obtained in the NEET UG 2024 exam held on 05.05.2024 and they will be given a choice of either retaining the original marks (without the compensatory marks) or appearing in a re-exam conducted by NTA likely on 23rd June. They further informed that the results of this option re-exam will be published before 30th June, 2024, so that the counselling for NEET UG 2024 can commence from July 6th, 2024.
Commenting on the NTA's decision, RTI activist Dr. Vivek Pandey, who had earlier filed an RTI seeking details of the rules applied by NTA to grant the grace marks, told Medical Dialogues, "From day one we know that grace or bonus marks will not lead to such inflation on cut-off marks. This matter is overhyped. Today, same thing happened the govt decided to give one more opportunity to those students who got grace marks either they accept the result or can go for retest. In my view, the main issue that needs to be addressed is the NEET paper leak. Because of this issue, there is a dramatic increase in the cutoff."
Expressing his opinion on the matter, he added, "I think NTA is an exam-conducting agency, not a fact-checking or investigating agency. Everyone should act on the duties and responsibilities given to them. Investigation should be done by the police or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)."
Dr. Rishiraj Sinha from the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) opined that the issue of grace marks granted to these 1563 candidates is only a "part of the issue". "The recent decision to cancel the scorecards of 1563 NEET-UG candidates due to grace marks and offer them a re-test addresses only part of the issue, given the serious allegations of exam leaks and arrests. This limited action risks undermining the integrity of the entire examination process. Comprehensive investigation and transparency are essential to restore trust and ensure fairness for all candidates," he told Medical Dialogues.
"Independent oversight and judicial intervention may be necessary to fully address the irregularities and uphold the credibility of the NEET-UG exam," he further mentioned.
NEET Paper Leak Scam:
This year's NEET UG 2024 exam was mired in controversies after a paper leak scam was revealed in Bihar. Around 13 people, including four examinees and their family members were arrested in Bihar for their alleged involvement in the paper leak of NEET-UG exam. Patna police sources had previously claimed that the NEET-UG question papers along with their answers were provided to around 20 aspirants a day before the date of the exam i.e. May 5, 2024.
Then, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, which took over the investigation, revealed that the brokers involved in the NEET paper leak scam took between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh from each of the medical aspirants in exchange for giving them the question paper of the NEET UG 2024 question paper ahead of the examination.
Referring to these issues, Dr. Sinha added, "The arrests and FIR related to the exam leak suggest deeper issues that may not be resolved by simply offering re-tests to a subset of candidates. In such a situation, it might be important for stakeholders, including students, parents, and educators, to advocate for a more comprehensive investigation and resolution. Transparency in the investigation process and clear communication from the authorities can help rebuild trust."
"The ramifications of this botched exam go far beyond the issue of grace marks. The credibility of a competitive exam has been compromised, leading to a significant loss of faith among students and their parents. As earlier said, This situation demands a comprehensive investigation and transparent resolution to restore trust and ensure fairness," he further mentioned.
Meanwhile, addressing the latest development and NTA's decision to withdraw the grace marks, the X (formerly Twitter) handle of Indian Doctor mentioned in a post, "All Coaching Mafia's trying to suppress #NEET Paper leak issue by continuously raising grace marks matter via their youtube channel & media interviews."
FAIMA has demanded an independent investigation into the allegations of paper leak in the NEET exam. The association mentioned in an X post, "We demand an independent body to investigate the lapses in NEET UG examination. @NTA_Exams is accountable for the faults in this exam and Director General of NTA should resign as it is his moral responsibility."
Dr. Lakshya Mittal, the National President of the United Doctors' Front Association (UDFA) compared NEET UG 2024 with the infamous 'Vyapam scam'. He mentioned in an X post, "Initially, the NTA awarded #gracemarks to mitigate the issue, and now, with the grace marks being revoked, students are left in a state of confusion and distress. What about the nearly 24 lakh candidates who participated in the exam? Paper Leak ? The emotional and mental toll on these students cannot be overlooked, especially in light of the reported instances of suicides linked to the stress and uncertainty surrounding the exam process. In light of these developments, there must be immediate intervention from the
Addressing the Union Education Ministry and the Health Ministry, his X post further added, "@EduMinOfIndia & @MoHFW_INDIA A thorough and independent investigation is essential to restore confidence in the examination process. @udfaindia calls for a high-level inquiry, potentially led by the @CBIHeadquarters (CBI), to be conducted without the involvement of @NTA_Exams personnel to ensure impartiality and credibility. The future and well-being of our students are at stake, and it is imperative that we take decisive actions to safeguard their interests and ensure a fair and transparent examination system."
The Supreme Court only considered the objections raised regarding the grace marks policy of NTA today. Clarifying that it will not stop the counselling, likely to commence from 6th July, the Apex Court bench has listed the issues concerning the use of unfair means in the examination for further hearing on 8th July, 2024.
