Mint Primer | NEET-UG fiasco: How to avoid trouble, going ahead
On 8 July, a Supreme Court bench will hear around 24 petitions challenging alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG), an exam crucial for admission into undergraduate medical programmes. The verdict could affect approximately 2.4 million students. Mint takes detailed look at the situation: The NEET-UG, assessing students on physics, biology, and chemistry, was held on 5 May across 4,750 centres in 571 Indian cities and 14 international locations.
Allegations from students, coaching centres, teachers, and parents include paper leaks, exam delays at certain centres, unwarranted grace marks, and unusually high scores—67 students achieved the maximum score of 720, the highest possible. There is a growing demand for the tests to be scrapped and a retest conducted, a move the Indian government has thus far resisted. The Supreme Court will hear around 24 petitions calling for a fresh examination due to alleged paper leaks and discrepancies in optical mark recognition (OMR) sheets.
Some petitions have sought an investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the examination process. Additionally, there are calls for an independent committee to probe the irregularities. Notable petitioners include Alakh Pandey, founder of the edtech firm Physics Wallah, and student groups like The Students Islamic Organization of India.
In response to the controversy, the government has annulled grace marks awarded to 1,563 students and conducted a retest for them. A committee has been established to enhance the structure, processes, data management, and security protocols of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which oversees the exam. NTA director Subodh
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