NEET Controversy 2024: Congress Demands CBI Investigation over Irregularities in NEET UG 2024; NEET Controversy

Last week, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced that the Education Ministry would set up a four-member panel to review the grace marks awarded to more than 1,500 candidates. The National Testing Agency (NTA) had denied any irregularities and said that the changes in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks granted for losing time at the exam centres were some reasons why some students scored high marks. The issue has taken a political turn, with several parties raising questions about the integrity and fairness of the examination process. NTA’s Director-General explained in a press conference, that the decision to grant grace marks was based on a committee’s recommendation. The marks were given to candidates who had less time due to the distribution of incorrect question papers.

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Tuesday demanded a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into alleged corrupt practices emcompassing the NEET UG medical entrance exams. Numerous students had alleged inflation of marks in the exam, after which the National Testing Agency (NTA) last week announced setting up a four-member panel by the Education Ministry to review the granted grace marks.
“After the BJP came to power, NEET came into existence, which has inconvenienced students. It has become an epicentre of corruption. By introducing NEET, the Union government took control over examinations and admissions nationwide. It forced the parents to pay higher fees for the NEET tuition,” Patole told reporters in Mumbai. He alleged that “corrupt practices” in the exam are keeping poor students away from getting admissions to government-run colleges. “We demand to conduct a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into NEET exams,” Patole added.
Founder of Goal Institute, Bipin Kumar Singh, told Republic, “Such alleged practices can discourage students in the future. If allegations are proven true, then the exam must be cancelled. Students who work hard feel very depressed when such things happen.”

The Congress in Kerala on Saturday demanded a comprehensive investigation into the allegations of irregularities in the NEET 2024 results. The party stated that the National Eligibility-and-Entrance Test (NEET) results have sparked concerns about the authenticity of the exam for medical courses, with numerous students questioning the process. In a letter sent to the Center, Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V. D. Satheesan said many students from Kerala have personally expressed concerns about the NEET exam results.
“I write to demand a comprehensive investigation into the suspicious results of the recently published NEET Result for 2024,” the Congress leader said in the letter sent to the secretaries of the departments of the Higher Education and Health and Family Welfare of the union government. “I regret to inform you (the Centre) that any wrongdoing in NEET results will undermine the hopes and dreams of thousands of qualified students. Ineligible candidates would devalue the quality of our healthcare system in the long run, which is deemed to be a great injustice to the generations to come,” the Kerala LoP said.
In addition, this year students have received 719 and 718 marks out of 720, which is not possible to score in the given NEET exam format. The fact that the results were announced 10 days before the proposed date casts considerable doubt on the validity of the valuation procedure. The questionable results have added credence to the earlier-surfaced allegations regarding the NEET question paper leak. This year’s NEET UG 2024 cutoff marks are much higher than usual, which has upset many students. In the exam, 67 students got the top rank, with six of them from the same center in Haryana. After the results were announced, many students questioned the number of top scorers and the grace marks that were given. This has become a major issue, with claims of problems and paper leaks, as some students got grace marks which resulted in high marks.