NEET UG: 44 toppers to see ranks slip by at least 88 positions after SC order to issue revised merit list

In the results announced on June 4, there were a record 67 candidates who had scored a perfect 720 marks and tied for the top spot.

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Written by: Abhinaya Harigovind

5 min readNew DelhiJul 24, 2024 05:54 PM IST First published on: Jul 23, 2024 at 08:24 PM IST

Keeping in line with the directions of the Supreme Court, the National Testing Agency (NTA) is expected to issue a revised merit list for the NEET undergraduate examination, a move that will affect 44 exam toppers who may see their ranks slip by at least 88 positions, if not more, The Indian Express has learned.

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In the results announced on June 4, there were a record 67 candidates who had scored a perfect 720 marks and tied for the top spot. Of these, six topped due to being compensated with extra marks for time lost during the examination because of mistakes made by invigilators. Apart from that, as many as 44 made it to the top because they got an answer to a basic physics question wrong and received “grace marks” for it.

Read | Supreme Court rules out NEET re-test: Paper leak in Patna & Hazaribagh, not systemic breach

Although the NTA agreed to compensate the 44 candidates with an additional five marks because the incorrect answer they marked was based on an erroneous reference in their old Class 12 NCERT science textbook, the Supreme Court decided that there would be just one accurate answer and anyone responding with anything other than that would not receive marks for it.

Also Read | No proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in NEET-UG: Govt in Lok Sabha

This means these 44 candidates would now have their scores revised to 715 out of 720.

Apart from the remaining 14 candidates who have scored 720, there are another 70 who have scored 716 marks out of 720. These 44 will now be ranked only after them. “This means their rank will most likely be only after the 88th and maybe even in the hundreds,” said a source.

On Tuesday, after the Supreme Court verdict, Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan told reporters that the NTA would release a new merit list in two days. Welcoming the Supreme Court’s rejection of the demands for cancelling NEET-UG, Pradhan said: “Truth prevails, we welcome the order of the Supreme Court. We have said from the beginning, our priority is the students of the country… over the past two months, the government’s stand has been that there has been no large-scale breach. Today, in the Supreme Court, this was shown to be right.”

Also Read | ‘Poor scrutiny of invigilators, unsafe internet link’: Amid NEET-UG row, panel flags gaps in exams

He added that the government is “committed to make the NTA a transparent, tamper-free, error-free organisation”, and “take strict legal action against those who were involved in this chaos”.

On the UGC-NET which was cancelled a day after it was held in June, on the grounds that the paper may have been leaked on the darknet, Pradhan said the NTA has announced a new date, indicating that a retest is still on the cards.

Pradhan also attacked the Opposition on Tuesday, and said that the Opposition had attempted to mislead students and create confusion.

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“In light of the NEET issue, the manner that the Opposition adopted… they called the country’s examination system invalid, said it was a shame, and that it was rubbish. This shows their intellectual level. Those who have cleared these competitive exams… engineers, doctors, students from IIMs have made a place for themselves in the world. In speaking ill of these exams, Rahul Gandhi has spoken ill of the nation. Misleading the students of the country, creating confusion…this has been a part of their politics. Since they are not able to accept consistent electoral defeat, anarchy and civil unrest have become a part of their politics,” said the education minister.

“I would like to appeal to them to apologise to the students. Political discussions can be different… students are of the country, not of any particular party,” said Pradhan adding: “Satyamev Jayate, the truth cannot be hidden.”

On the opposition to NEET in some states, Pradhan said: “The Supreme Court had given its opinion that there should be an All-India test (conducted) by an agency, because there were a lot of complaints in the old practice…I think this (opposition to NEET) is political… I don’t know whose interests they are serving. Those who are opposing NEET today, from Tamil Nadu, were part of the government in 2010. The first unified examination was conducted in 2013. We were not in charge in those days.”