A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) decision to grant grace marks to students in this year’s National Entrance cum Eligibility Test (NEET) for undergraduate medical programs, according to a report by LiveLaw.
The petitioner argues that the utilization of the ‘normalization formula’ to award grace marks is unlawful, arbitrary, and violates Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution. They contend that this formula should not be applied in this context as the NEET exam is intended to directly assess subject knowledge. The formula, they assert, awards marks based on assumptions of knowledge rather than actual assessment, as reported by LiveLaw.
Here are the latest updates on the NEET issue:
1) The National Testing Agency (NTA) has formed a committee to review the awarding of grace marks to NEET UG 2024 candidates amid allegations of mark inflation, according to ANI reports.
2) The Ministry of Education has also established a committee to review the grace marks given to over 1,500 candidates. Concerns have been raised about inflated marks leading to 67 candidates achieving the top rank, with six of them from the same exam center in Haryana.
3) Subodh Kumar Singh, Director General of the NTA, stated, “They (the committee) will meet soon and they will be able to submit their recommendation within a week.”
4) Congress leader Srinivas BV has called for an investigation into alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 examination. He emphasized the need for an inquiry given the discrepancy between the number of students taking the exam and the number securing the top ranks.
5) Indian Youth Congress members staged a protest on Raisina Road, alleging manipulation in the NEET-UG 2024 exam results. They voiced their commitment to fighting for justice for affected students.
6) Congress MP Rahul Gandhi criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the alleged irregularities, pledging to raise the issue in Parliament and advocate for the students’ concerns.
7) Rahul Gandhi highlighted the NEET exam controversy, pointing out anomalies in the results and expressing concern over the government’s response to allegations of paper leaks.
