Amid the row over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2024 results, including allegations of a paper leak, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Thursday that there was no evidence of a paper leak.
Pradhan, who returned for a second innings as the head of the Ministry and took charge Thursday, made the remark even as the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced that a NEET retest would be conducted for 1,563 candidates who were given ‘grace marks’ for ‘loss of time’ during the exams. It said that these ‘grace marks’ stand withdrawn.
On Wednesday, The Indian Express had reported that a retest for these 1,563 candidates was among the options being considered by a four-member committee formed last week by the NTA.
Pradhan said: “This year, 24 lakh students took the NEET. Around 13 lakh students qualified. There are 4,500 exam centres for NEET, and there are centres in other countries as well. The exam happens in 13 languages.
There are two question sheets for NEET. On the day of the exam itself, it is informed whether question sheet A or B will be used. This time, by mistake, in six centres out of 4,500 centres, a wrong set of questions was given.”
“When the exam began, cognizance of this was taken and the correct question paper was given. There was some time loss involved. In those six centres, there were 1,563 students. They thought this time loss was unfair. There is a standing order of the Supreme Court… that if such issues are raised in entrance exams, instead of re-exam, an average marking… on the grace marking method… can be done. The NTA applied this.”
“After this, it was seen that some students got 100% after the grace marks. Based on this, some went to court. A committee was constituted… Today, the Supreme Court has made it clear that the 1,563 students should be given the opportunity for a re-exam. On June 23, these students will be given the option of a re-exam. They can either sit for the re-exam or take the original scores,” he said.
An unusually large number — 67 candidates — secured the top rank in the NEET exam.
On the allegations, Pradhan said, “There is no corruption. This environment has been created over the past few days… there are big anomalies… The government has taken seriously the specific instances that have come to the fore. A committee of academicians has been formed and they have given some recommendations. Based on that the government has presented its side to the court. The NTA conducts three big exams successfully: NEET, JEE and CUET. In the incident that has been brought to the fore, the culprits will most certainly be punished.”
In the Supreme Court Thursday, the Centre and NTA said that the grace marks awarded to 1,563 NEET candidates will be cancelled and a retest organised for those who want to take it again.
Advocate Kanu Agrawal, appearing for the NTA and Centre, told a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that these candidates would be informed of their “actual scores” without the compensatory marks. A retest will be conducted for these candidates and the results of those who do not wish to reappear will be declared based on the “actual marks” scored by them.
The NTA said the retest will be notified Thursday itself and that it is likely to be held on June 23. The results of the retest will be declared before June 30 so that the counselling process, which is set to begin on July 6, is not affected.
The bench recorded the submissions and disposed of the petition.
Meanwhile, the Opposition demanded a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the NEET row and removal of the NTA chief.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that “grace marks was not the only issue, that there was “rigging” and the “papers were leaked”.
Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi told a press conference, “We demand a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into this entire scandal which has affected around 24 lakh students.”
Replying to Kharge, Union Minister Pradhan said that “in the NEET exam case, NTA is committed to take appropriate action by following the directions of the Honourable Supreme Court”.
“As per the Honourable Supreme Court, the examination of 1,563 students will be conducted again,” he said.
“No concrete evidence of any kind of rigging, corruption or paper leak has been found so far in the NEET exam. All the facts related to this are before the Supreme Court and are under consideration,” he said in a post on X.
“I want to remind the Congress that to prevent paper leak and to conduct a cheating-free exam, the Central Government has passed the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act this year, which has many strict provisions. Congress should not be under the misconception that if any nexus is found, no action will be taken against it. The provisions of this Act will be implemented very carefully.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also raised the issue of the NEET examination. “Besides the arbitrary granting of grace marks which have been withdrawn, the NTA has a lot to answer,” she said.
DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran welcomed the Supreme Court direction in the NEET matter.
“Today’s order asking 1,563 students to re-do the exam is a welcome part. Our leader M K Stalin was the first person who spoke about NEET and was against it. That time they all made jokes about us. They all said NEET is a Tamil Nadu issue and not a national one. Our young leader Udhayanidhi (Stalin) also raised the issue. Not only in Tamil Nadu, suicides are happening even in Rajasthan’s Kota too. Do you know what the BJP government did to solve this problem? They are putting springs in ceiling fans to stop student suicides,” Maran told reporters.
Members of AIDSO protesting against Education Ministry against alleged corruption in NEET result, in Kolkata on Monday. (Express photo by Partha Paul) 
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