The Supreme Court on Monday will hear a batch of pleas related to the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam NEET-UG 2024, including those alleging irregularities and malpractices in the May 5 test and seeking a direction to conduct it afresh.
In the absence of any evidence of a widespread breach of confidentiality, the Centre and the National Testing Agency (NTA), which administers NEET-UG, recently informed the Supreme Court that eliminating the exam would be counterproductive and seriously jeopardise lakhs of students.
According to the cause list for July 8 uploaded on the court’s website, a bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra is scheduled to hear a total of 38 petitions related to the exam.
Students and political groups have been protesting and debating the NTA and the Union education ministry in the media over claims of widespread malpractices, such as question paper leaks and impersonation during the test on May 5.
The Union education ministry and the NTA have filed separate affidavits in the apex court, opposing the pleas which have sought scrapping of the exam, a re-test and a court-monitored probe into the entire gamut of issues involved.
In their responses, they have said the CBI, the country’s premier investigating agency, has taken over the cases registered in different states.
“It is also submitted that at the same time, in the absence of any proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in a pan-India examination, it would not be rational to scrap the entire examination and the results already declared,” the Centre said in its preliminary affidavit filed by a director in the ministry of education. “Scrapping the exam in entirety would seriously jeopardise the lakhs of honest candidates who attempted the question paper in 2024,” the ministry said.
The NTA, in its separate affidavit, reiterated the Centre’s stand and said, “The cancellation of the entire examination on the basis of the aforesaid factor, would be hugely counterproductive and significantly harmful to the larger public interest, especially to the career prospects of the qualified candidates.”
The agency said the entirety of the NEET-UG 2024 exam was carried out fairly and with due confidentiality without any illegal practices, and the claim of “mass malpractice” during the exam is “completely unfounded, misleading, and lacks any basis”.
“It is submitted that if the entire examination process is cancelled without there being any tangible factors warranting such actions it would be highly detrimental to the larger public interest involving the academic career of lakhs of students who have attempted the examination fairly without any wrongdoing or even an allegation of wrongdoing,” the NTA said.
According to the government and the NTA, there is no evidence of a widespread breach of confidentiality in the exam, which was administered to over 23 lakh students at 4,750 locations across 571 cities. A high-level expert group has been established to recommend practical steps for the NTA to take in order to conduct fair, easy, and transparent tests.
As per the affidavit, the panel will offer recommendations for changes to the National Testing Agency’s operations, data security procedures and framework, and examination process mechanism.
Initially expected on June 14, the results were announced on June 4 due to early completion of the answer sheet evaluation. Allegations of irregularities, including paper leaks, have led to protests in several cities and sparring between rival political parties.
The Centre and the NTA on June 13 told the court that they had cancelled the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates.
(with inputs from PTI)
