NEET-UG retest: 1,563 candidates to appear at 7 centers today
In the wake of an escalating controversy surrounding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance (NEET)-Undergraduate exam 2024, a retest is being conducted on Sunday for 1,563 candidates. This decision follows the withdrawal of grace marks previously awarded to these students by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to compensate for lost time. The re-exam is taking place at seven centers, six of which are new, as confirmed by a senior NTA official.
Supreme Court informed of NEET-UG retest decision
On June 13, the NTA informed the Supreme Court that the scorecards of these candidates would be cancelled and they would have the option to reappear for the exam on June 23. The results of this retest will be declared before June 30. This decision was made following protests alleging irregularities and paper leaks after as many as 67 students topped the exam with a perfect score of 720.
Education minister rules out NEET cancellation
Following the protests, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan addressed the controversy on Thursday but ruled out the cancellation of NEET. He stated that he cannot jeopardize the careers of lakhs of students who cleared the exam rightfully due to "isolated incidents of malpractice." On Saturday, the government replaced NTA Director General Subodh Singh and established a seven-member panel led by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to review the agency's functioning and recommend exam reforms.
Centre notifies law to tackle unfair practices
At the same time, the Union Government enforced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, starting from June 21, to prevent paper leaks and cheating in public exams. The Parliament passed this Act on February, but it was not operational until the government issued a notification. This law penalizes people who commit malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations with a possible jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to ₹1 crore.
NEET-PG examination postponed
Amid these controversies, the Health Ministry has decided to postpone the NEET-Post Graduate exams which were scheduled for Sunday. "Taking into consideration, the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations, the Ministry of Health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of the processes of the NEET-PG Entrance Examination," said the Health Ministry. "It has accordingly been decided to postpone the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, scheduled to be held tomorrow i.e. 23rd June, 2024."
