A third-party review of this year’s NEET undergraduate exam, which was conducted on 5 May, has brought to light troubling “non-compliances” at several exam centres. These breaches included the absence of two operational CCTV cameras in exam rooms, as well as instances of unprotected strongrooms where question papers were stored.
According to an Indian Express report, the National Testing Agency (NTA), responsible for conducting NEET-UG and currently under scrutiny for alleged irregularities, including accusations of paper leaks, was officially notified of the review’s findings on June 16, notably this notification came almost 12 days after the exam results were announced.
On the day of the exam, 186 of the 399 exam centeres visited—46%—did not have the required two working CCTV cameras in each exam room. The live feeds from these cameras are supposed to be transmitted to the Central Control Room at the NTA headquarters in New Delhi, where a team of experts is supposed to monitor them. This review was agreed upon by both the NTA and the third party. The findings have raised serious concerns about the integrity and security of the NEET-UG exam process, putting additional pressure on the NTA to address these lapses and ensure stricter compliance in future examinations.
Furthermore, in 68 (or 16%) of the 399 exam centres surveyed, the strong room was not “secured by guard.” According to the rules, the strong room should have been guarded until the delivery of question papers, as reported by The Indian Express.
Moreover, at 83 centres, the biometric staff differed from the designated staff assigned to those centres. The aim of the review is to detect any non-compliance with established guidelines or potential malpractices during the examination at each centre on the day of the exam.
For the review process, the observer, deployed by a third party, has a comprehensive checklist to verify: physical controls at examination centres (including functioning jammers covering all necessary rooms, physical security measures, access to the exam centre, physical movements within the centre, and frisking procedures as required); seating arrangements corresponding to allotted seats; presence of the required number of invigilators, CCTV staff, and other specified requirements, as reported by The Indian Express.
When selecting a school or any location as an exam centre for NEET-UG, the National Testing Agency (NTA) considers various factors such as infrastructure standards, the centre’s susceptibility to potential malpractices, seating capacity for candidates, accessibility, availability of clean facilities, and the presence of essential life-safety equipment.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) faced significant criticism after issues with the NEET-UG results announced on June 4, which coincided with the Lok Sabha election results. Many were concerned because an unusually high number of candidates (67) achieved a perfect score of 720/720, and some others scored 718 or 719 marks, which seemed unlikely under normal exam conditions. The NTA explained these unusual results by saying the exam paper was easier than expected. They also awarded extra marks to students who faced disruptions during the exam due to mistakes and delays by NTA staff and invigilators. There was also mention of a wrong exam question.
Additionally, the NTA is dealing with accusations of a leaked exam paper in Bihar. Thirteen people were arrested by state police, including four NEET candidates, their parents, and members of a group accused of organizing a practice exam for 35 candidates just before the real exam at a school under the Ramakrishna Nagar police station. Allegedly, they got hold of the NEET question paper with answers during this incident.
Notably, two exam centres in Godhra, Gujarat, are currently under investigation by the state police for allegedly assisting candidates in filling correct answers on their OMR sheets.