Students, parents raise concerns over ‘anomalies’ in NEET UG results
Neha Saini
Amritsar, June 7
Raising concerns over anomalies in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test, Undergraduate, (NEET UG) results declared on June 4, several parents and students held the National Testing Agency (NTA) responsible for “gross misconduct” and jeopardising future of thousands of aspirants with “unrealistic cut-off” this year.
The NEET UG results were announced on evening of June 4, coinciding with the results of the Lok Sabha elections. This year, 67 students managed to get 720/720, a perfect score. The NTA had also announced at a press conference that it had awarded grace marks to 1,536 students.
Dr Kamal Jeet Singh, a neurosurgeon in Amritsar, has written to the NTA questioning the process of declaring results for the NEET UG this year. His son Ajitesh Singh scored 700 out of 720 in NEET UG 2024, yet his AIR was 1,779. Ajitesh was hoping to get admission in AIIMS, Jodhpur or Rishikesh, but with his current rank, he would only have to settle for second grade medical college.
“Last year, a student, who scored 701 had AIR between 100 and 150. This score is usually expected to secure an AIR of below 300. But with the current scenario, I will have to settle for any other medical college other than where I wanted to go,” shared Ajitesh with disappointment.
Dr Kamal said several anomalies, including paper leak a few days ahead of the NEET and awarding grace marks randomly to few students, had raised suspicion on the credibility of the results.
“Certain students received peculiar scores of 718 and 719, which is not possible without the allocation of grace marks. The NTA’s decision to award grace marks to selective students raises concerns about fairness and transparency in exams. Several students, including my son, will suffer because of this,” he said.
He also raised the issue of 67 students getting perfect score this year. “The number of perfect scores is unprecedented. The final results revealed that 67 students achieved a perfect score of 720, an unprecedented occurrence in the NEET history. Given the difficulty of the paper, it is highly unlikely,” he said
Ajitesh said grace marks awarded by the NTA to a few students messed up with the ranking system. “It is unfair for those students, who have put in hard work for two years and highlights the “unrealistic approach” towards such competitive exams,” he said.
Shruti Chaudhary, who scored 707/720 in NEET UG with an AIR of 720, emerging a Amritsar topper too, shared her disappointment with the ranking system this year.
“I am hoping that I get admission in the AIIMS, Rishikesh, but with the kind of ranks awarded to several students and despite getting good scores, it’s quite discouraging,” she said.
Surbhi Mehra, another NEET UG aspirant and merit holder scored 700/720, but her AIR was 2,045. Similarly, Pushkar Parasher also scored 700/720 in the NEET UG, but his AIR was 2,144.
“This huge gap in ranks despite scoring equal marks shows the disappointment we feel. Last year, students who scored between 650 and 700 were able to clear counselling and get seats in good medical colleges. This year, many of us will have to settle for less,” said Surbhi. Even Pushkar agreed. He said, “We can’t do anything about it, now.”
Another parent, Dr Anuj Kaushal, who is an ENT doctor, shared that his daughter had scored 650, but with the current ranking, she would not able to make the cut-off of any medical college. He said, “This is grossly unfair for many students, who have dedicatedly given two years of their lives to the NEET preparations.”
He said, “Last year, students with scores between 640 and 670 had AIR between 10,000 and 12,000 while this year their rank has been pushed beyond 20,000.”
Uttam Jeet Singh, an educator at Wisdom Classes Centre here also questioned the scorecard of aspirants with 718 and 719 marks. “It is highly unlikely as in the NEET every question carries four marks and for every wrong answer one mark is deducted. Every single mark carries a lot of importance in the NEET,” he said.
