Is NEET fair? Congress Questions Integrity Of NTA Amidst Allegations Of Leaks And Fraud

NEET-UG 2024 Row: As the alleged plot is getting thicker surrounding leaks and frauds in the NEET-UG 2024 Results row, the opposition on Sunday charged a fresh allegation on the National Testing Agency (NTA), responsible for conducting the medical entrance exam, on its role in ensuring fairness. The Congress has raised 'serious questions’ on the integrity and procedure of how it is conducted, designed, and administered.  

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh posted on his social media platform ‘X’, “I was a member of Parliament's Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare between 2014 and 2019 and recall broad support for NEET. But there were MPs, especially from Tamil Nadu, who had raised concerns that NEET would privilege CBSE students and would disadvantage youth coming from non-CBSE schools."  

Highlighting a need for a thorough analysis, Ramesh expressed his belief that the CBSE issue needed proper analysis and questioned whether NEET was discriminatory, suggesting that students from poorer backgrounds might be denied opportunities. He also noted that other states, such as Maharashtra, had expressed serious concerns about NEET.  

There are also serious questions about the integrity of the National Testing Agency itself and the way NEET is designed and administered, he said. Ramesh also claimed that the NCERT has lost its professionalism in the last decade.  

Ramesh added that hopefully the newly formed Standing Committees of Parliament will conduct a thorough review of NEET, NTA, and NCERT when they get constituted, as this should receive the highest priority.  

The NTA conducted the NEET-UG (National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-UG) on May 5 across 4.750 centers, with around 24 lakh candidates appearing for it. The results were declared on June 4, soon after which it is facing fire and backlash over the allotment of grace marks to 1,563 students. There have been accusations relating to paper leaks and cheating scandals.  

A cheating ring was busted in Godhra recently, followed by 13 arrests made in Patna. There are allegations of paper leaks in Patna.  

On Thursday, the Center and the National Testing Agency informed the Supreme Court that they had revoked the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates. They will have the option to either take a re-test or forgo the additional marks.