Disillusioned NEET UG aspirants weigh overseas, private admission amid controversy

On June 13, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan rejected allegations of paper leak in medical entrance exam NEET-UG, saying there is no evidence of it. (Illiustration by Suneesh Kalarickal)

Allegations of question paper leaks, contentious grace marks, and inflated ranks at this year's National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) UG have left scores of medical education aspirants in turmoil, with many looking to take a drop year or head for private or overseas colleges.

“Rank inflation in NEET UG was never expected, and this year it seems tough for students scoring below 630 to get a decent college,” 17-year-old NEET aspirant Aniket Pathak told Moneycontrol.

As things stand now, dropping is a likely option for him. “However, this can happen again next year. So, studying abroad now seems like a decent option,” he conceded.

Pathak is among thousands of students who are utterly dissatisfied with their NEET UG 2024 results and the way the government body the National Testing Agency (NTA) has conducted and evaluated the results.

This year's NEET UG exam on May 5, saw a record-breaking number of participants - approximately 24 lakh. However, soon after the exams were held, accusations of a question paper leak were made. Later, awarding grace marks to 1,563 students due to loss of time sparked protests and legal challenges across the country. Several High Courts, along with the Supreme Court, received lawsuits contesting the exam's legitimacy.

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Various students took to social media to question how 67 students scored a perfect score of 720 out of 720, while others highlighted that they had received different marks on their scorecards compared to their OMR sheets.

On June 13, 2024, the Supreme Court accepted the Centre and NTA’s decision to cancel grace marks awarded to NEET-UG candidates who did not get the requisite time to finish the examination, with the students now getting an option to take a re-test on June 23, 2024, with results expected before counselling begins on July 1.

If a student chooses not to retake the exam, their original score, excluding the grace marks, will be considered their final result.

“Loss of time should only be compensated by time, not by marks. No one can exactly determine their efficiency and solving rate just by looking through CCTV cameras and OMR sheets,” Pathak said.

‘Dreams shattered’

Rishi Raj Soni scored 685 out of 720, which could have secured a place in a central university. According to past years, this score would correspond to a rank in the All India Rank (AIR) range of 1,350 to 1,500.

Even after adjusting for increased competition and an enlarged applicant pool, an inflated rank up to about 3 times that amount around 2,000 to 2,500 AIR would have to be expected.

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“However, AIR of 6,963 unexpectedly led me to a very critical juncture of my life at the moment of admission to a central university and made me feel at sea without any option except to join a local government medical college,” Soni said.

He further highlighted that a student from Gujarat who failed in Physics and Chemistry in the board exams has been awarded 705 marks out of 720, which is “unconvincing without considering any grace marks”.

However, students remain doubtful about how things will pan out.

“There’s something fishy from the start. Even if there are re-exams for those who got grace marks, what is the guarantee that it would be free and fair this time? Those who somehow managed to get grace marks to inflate their marks, can manage it again in some other way,” alleged an 18-year-old aspirant who has decided to skip NEET altogether and take admission in a private college.

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Similarly, Dhyey Shah, another aspirant, said students getting grace marks without proper justifications are cheating with the other students who have shed blood and tears for two years.

“The 'coincidence' of multiple toppers from the same centre and a similar role sequence seems highly implausible if one simply calculates the probability of it happening. Out of the 67 candidates securing AIR 1, quite a few were awarded grace marks, meaning they are eligible for AIIMS Delhi, which any other worthy student won't get just because of this unfairness,” Shah said.

Paper leak allegations

On June 13, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan rejected allegations of paper leak in NEET UG.

"There is no evidence of paper leak in NEET UG. The allegations of corruption in NTA are unfounded, it is a very credible body," Pradhan told reporters.

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However, coaching centres, edtech companies and education experts from the industry have shown concern as to how NTA has handled the allegations and subsequent revelation of inflation in marks.

“The NTA initially did not address candidate complaints and was slow to respond. This confused them as their explanations later did not solve any concerns. It was only after facing legal challenges that they took concrete action,” said Anil Ahlawat, CEO of MTG Learning Media.

Mohit Tyagi, Founder and Director of Competishun, concurred, saying that immediately after the lapses were made public, the NTA needed to conduct a thorough and transparent investigation into the paper leak.

“They should have convincingly proven that the leak was limited to those who were caught and that no one else was involved. This should have been backed by solid evidence and communicated effectively to everyone,” he said.