The controversy over giving grace marks in the medical admission exam NEET-UG (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate) has come to an end. The National Testing Agency (NTA) told the Supreme Court on Thursday, before the hearing on this matter began, that the grace marks given to 1,563 students due to time wastage have been canceled. Normal marks (without grace marks) of all these students will be released soon. All of them will also be given a chance to take the exam again.
Allegations of irregularities
There have been allegations of inflating marks in NEET-UG, due to which a record 67 candidates shared the top rank by securing perfect scores. Last year, only two students shared the top rank. The students alleged that the marks of many candidates were randomly reduced or increased, which affected their rank.
Grace marks given to more than 1,500 students to compensate for the loss of time due to delays in the examination at six centers are under investigation. There are also allegations of a paper leak. The Economic Offenses Wing of Bihar Police had last month said citing its investigation that NEET-UG question papers and answers were made available to about 35 candidates before the May 5 exam. So far 13 persons have been arrested in this case.
Grace marks given
Students from at least six centers in Meghalaya, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Surat, and Chandigarh had complained of wasting time during the examination. At these places, students did not get the full three hours and 20 minutes to write the exam due to administrative reasons.
These administrative reasons include the distribution of the wrong question paper, torn OMR sheets, or delay in the distribution of OMR sheets. A committee formed by the NTA investigated the matter and adopted a formula prepared by the court to compensate for the lost time of the candidates. Their wasted time was detected and grace marks were given.
NTA's stand
The NTA says that the sanctity of the exam has not been compromised. It attributed the increase in the number of top scorers to the competitiveness of the exam and the increase in performance standards. According to officials, grace marks have been given to 1,563 candidates to compensate for the loss of time. Of the 67 candidates who scored 720 out of 720 marks, 44 were given grace marks due to modification in the answer key of Physics and six for loss of time.
Political controversy
The Congress has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the exam and said that the anger in the country over the matter will be heard in Parliament as well. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi accused the Education Minister of defending the NTA and claimed that the Bihar Police investigation found the paper leak.
The Maharashtra government has demanded the cancellation of the exam and alleged that its results have caused injustice to the students of the state. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin reiterated that NEET is against social justice and federalism. The Aam Aadmi Party has also demanded a Supreme Court-monitored investigation.
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