Doctors demand CBI inquiry into alleged irregularities in NEET 2024
The IMA Junior Doctors Network has demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024. In a letter to National Testing Agency (NTA) Chairperson Pradeep Kumar Joshi, the doctors' body requested a re-examination "to ensure a fair and transparent evaluation process." The letter stated that some students scored 718 and 719 marks, which is "statistically questionable." The results, which were declared on June 4, saw 67 candidates score a 99.997129 percentile.
Unprecedented high scores raise concerns
The doctors' body said students scoring such perfect percentiles had never happened before. "Usually, only three to four students score perfect marks," they wrote. Furthermore, it claimed that the NEET 2024 paper was leaked in numerous areas, but no action was taken. Following the results, students and educators had expressed concerns over inflated cutoffs and unusually high marks. Anand Prakash, Co-Founder of Vedantu, also noted that "this year's NEET exam results show a high level of discrepancy on multiple fronts."
Read the letter here
NTA explains high scores amid controversy
On Thursday, the NTA clarified that the higher number of top scorers was due to a revision in the answer key, as well as compensatory marks awarded for loss of time. "Out of the 67 candidates who got 720/720 marks, 44 are on account of the revision in one answer key of Physics and six are on account of compensatory marks for loss of time," the NTA said.
NTA forms grievance redressal committee amid allegations
The NTA also disputed reports that up to six toppers came from the same Haryana center, saying "toppers are from across the country." Additionally, it formed a Grievance Redressal Committee comprising examination and academic experts to address the issues. The committee evaluated the complaints and reviewed CCTV footage from the affected exam centers. The number of candidates that appeared in 2024 climbed to 23,33,297 from 20,38,596 in 2023.
