Aspirants Demand Re-Exam Alleging "NEET Scam": What Is The Grace Marks Controversy
A NEET scam? After allegations of a NEET question paper leak, the latest controversy to hit the national-level medical entrance exam involves the way the National Testing Agency (NTA) awarded grace marks to candidates, marking the first time this has occurred in the exam’s history. The NEET exam conducting agency clarified its position, stating that some candidates were compensated with grace marks after they ascertained “the loss of examination time” based on representations from students.
This decision to award grace marks, along with the unprecedented situation of 67 candidates sharing the first rank, has enraged NEET aspirants and coaching centers across India, leading many to demand a re-examination.
Read also: Scrapping NEET Is Important To Avoid Student Suicides: DMK
The NTA justified its decision in a statement released on June 4, right after the NEET results were announced: “NTA received few representations and Court Cases from the candidates of NEET (UG) 2024 raising concerns of loss of time during the conduct of the examination on 05.05.2024. Such cases/representations were considered by NTA and the normalisation formula, which has been devised and adopted by the Hon’ble Apex Court, vide its Judgment dated 13.06.2018, was implemented to address the loss of time faced by the candidates of NEET (UG) 2024. The loss of examination time was ascertained and such candidates were compensated with grace marks. So, candidate’s marks can be 718 or 719 also.”
Key allegations from those demanding a NEET re-exam include:
Issue About 718 or 719 Marks Out of 720
In the NEET undergraduate exam format, a perfect score of 720/720 is achieved with 180 correct answers. The next possible scores, if the percentile method is not applied, are 716, reflecting a loss of four marks for an unanswered question, or 715, accounting for four marks lost plus a negative mark for a wrong answer.
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However, this year, students scored 719 and 718 marks. According to many, any combination of answers makes it impossible to score 717, 714, and 709. The NTA justified this by applying percentile marks as per a previous Supreme Court order.
Many Rank Holders from the Same Coaching Institute or Exam Center
Viral videos on social media claim that many top-ranking students are from the same coaching institute or exam center. Questions are being raised about how it is possible for many students from the same exam center (with adjacent roll numbers) to score similar marks before grace marks were added. Allegations suggest that question papers were leaked before the exams. Several social media reports reference paper leaks that surfaced on May 4 and May 5 to support these claims.
Why Was Time Loss Not Reported Earlier?
Critics question why issues of time loss were not reported by affected students before the NEET results were announced on June 4. They also claim that no public reports of such cases were available before the results.
Timing of NEET Results Announcement
Another allegation from students and coaching centers is that the NTA purposefully released the NEET results on June 4 to coincide with Lok Sabha election results, allegedly to avoid scrutiny and outcry over the results.
