How did 67 students become toppers in NEET-UG exam this time? Know what the experts said when questions were raised on the result

New Delhi: Students, parents, coaching centres and opposition parties have raised questions about the result of the medical entrance exam NEET-UG. When the exam was held on 5 May last month, the allegations of paper leak created a stir in the whole country. The National Testing Agency (NTA) clarified that no paper was leaked. But now after a month, when the NEET result is out, there is a possibility of tampering in the result. Congress has even demanded an investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court, alleging rigging in the exam. Know with NBT what are the allegations and what NTA has to say about them.

Allegation 1: Till now only a few students used to get perfect scores. In the last five years, there have never been more than three toppers. Every time there used to be only one to three toppers, so how did 67 candidates get 720 marks this time?

NTA: Out of 67, there are 17 candidates who have got 720 marks just like they used to get earlier. That is, the number which used to be 1, 2 or 3 earlier, is 17 this time. Another reason behind having more toppers is that this time the maximum number of 23.33 lakh candidates appeared in the exam, while the paper was also easy. Out of 67 toppers, there were 44 students who were successful in getting 720 marks due to a question in Physics. Actually, the answer to this question was different in the old NCERT book and different in the new edition. We received 13373 challenges regarding this question, after which both the options had to be accepted as correct and the students who chose any of the two options got full marks for this question.

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Allegation 2: How can 6 candidates from the same exam centre become toppers? Has there been any irregularity?

NTA: At many centres, students did not get enough time for the exam. After that, some students of those centres filed petitions in Punjab and Haryana, Delhi and Chhattisgarh High Courts complaining about wasting time in the exam. We formed a high power committee and after the committee’s recommendation, 1563 students were given grace marks. 6 students of the same exam centre have got grace marks, who already had very high scores.

Allegation 3: Was the 2024 paper really easy? Why did this happen?

NTA: Yes, this time the paper was the easiest in the last five years. This can be gauged from the fact that this time the minimum qualifying score for the general category was 164, which was 137, 117, 138 and 147 in the previous years. This year the average marks out of 720 were 323.55, in 2020 it was 297.18.

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Allegation 4: How can students get 718 and 719 marks, when four marks are given for each question and one mark is negatively marked for each wrong answer?

NTA: Due to grace marks, the scores of two students are 718 and 719. Due to the normalization formula, students have got different grace marks.

Allegation 5: What was the hurry to announce the NEET result on June 4, the day of the election results, before the announced date of June 14?

NTA: From this year, for the first time, NTA has started announcing the result date for every exam in the information bulletin. According to NTA protocols, the result should be declared as soon as possible. The result comes soon after the answer key challenge process is completed. When the NEET result was ready, there was no point in delaying it by ten days.

What do the experts say?

Experts have different views on the result. Well-known career counselor Alok Bansal says that the way questions are being raised on the NEET result, doubts do arise. In such a situation, there should be an impartial investigation to remove any doubt. he/she says that students do not seem satisfied with the answers given by NTA. It would be good if an investigation is conducted. At the same time, an expert also said that there is no doubt that the paper was easy, which benefited even the students of rural areas. Coaching centers are also creating a lot of ruckus for their own benefit.