Students, edtechs urge govt to investigate alleged irregularities in NEET UG 2024, re-conduct exam

To be sure, more than 24 lakh candidates registered for the examination, out of which around 23.33 lakh appeared at 4,750 different centres located in 571 Cities throughout the country including 14 cities outside India on May 5, 2024.

On the day of the examination, the NTA claimed that the distribution of wrong question papers at an exam centre in Rajasthan led to some candidates walking out with the papers, with some believing that the paper was leaked.

"The integrity of the examination process was not compromised. The exam was later reconducted for the 120 affected candidates at the centre," an NTA official had said.

However, later while announcing the results on June 4, NTA said there have been cases of malpractice/impersonation where strict action has been taken on impersonators/candidates.

“...NTA has also conducted post-exam data analysis, to detect cases of Unfair Means (UFM). Action on UFM cases is taken as per extant rules, which include cancellation of candidature and debarment from future examinations,” the official circular said.

Nevertheless, edtechs are asking for reassessment or re-examination to restore the authenticity of the examinations.

“Several troubling points have emerged…how did 67 students manage to achieve AIR-1 in a national-level exam? Why do two students out of 24 lakh score 718 and 719 through normalization, which isn't mentioned in the official Information booklet? 8 students have the same roll number series 2307010xxx and no surnames, all scoring 720/720,” said Mohit Kumar Tyagi, founder and CEO of Competishun.

He further said that NTA has acknowledged giving grace marks due to delays in starting the exam at certain centres. However, Tyagi questioned that regardless of the number of marks awarded, even a single grace mark is highly questionable. If the exam started late, he said NTA should have rescheduled the exam instead of giving grace marks.

Similarly, Anil Nagar, founder and CEO of Adda247 said he has been getting multiple messages from students ever since the results came out.

“Our students and parents have made immense effort to prepare for these exams and they deserve that the reported issues are validated and checked by competent authorities. This unprecedented situation has led to widespread speculation and scepticism. We urge NTA and the Government of India to go into the depth of the issues reported and if found true, to take appropriate measures,” he said.