A major medical examination in India has sparked anger, protests and accusations of cheating after thousands of candidates achieved abnormally high marks in this year’s test.
The National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG – conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) – is the gateway to studying medicine in the country as the score is necessary for admission to a medical college. It is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), a government organization that organizes some of India’s largest exams.
Millions of students take the exam every year, but only a small percentage achieve sufficient grades to secure a university placement. But this year the challenge is slightly different: too many candidates have achieved high marks, which drags down the ranking system and makes it difficult for even high scorers to gain admission.
Since the results were announced on June 4, the exam has come under scrutiny for reasons ranging from errors in the question paper and incorrect giving of grace marks (compensation marks) to allegations of paper leaks and fraud. Students and parents have demanded a retest and dozens of petitions have been filed in court to that effect.
NTA officials have denied allegations of paper leaks, but on Sunday Federal Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan admitted that “some irregularities” had come to light in certain exam centres. He said no one, including NTA officials, would be spared if any irregularities were found.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India issued a notice to the NTA, saying that even if there is “0.001% negligence on the part of anyone, it must be thoroughly addressed”.
But all this is small consolation for students who spend months or even years preparing for this highly competitive exam.
Tens of millions of students in India every year dream of going to a good medical or engineering college. These professions command great respect and also offer hope for a stable long-term income in a country with a jobs crisis.
This year, as many as 2.4 million students competed for just 110,000 available seats for the NEET exam, underscoring the intense pressure and fierce competition that aspiring candidates face.
Of the total seats, 55,000 to 60,000 seats belong to government-run colleges, while private colleges offer the rest. Half of the seats are reserved for disadvantaged students.
Students flock to government schools because of their affordability. A five-year MBBS course at a government university costs between 500,000 and 1 million rupees ($5,992 – $11,984), while private colleges can charge up to ten times more.
What led to the controversy?
When the results were announced on June 4, it turned out that no fewer than 67 students had achieved a perfect score of 720 points.
Since 2016 – when NEET became the official entrance exam for medical colleges in India – only one to three students get full marks every year, and sometimes not even that.
This year also saw a significant increase in the number of candidates scoring between 650 and 680 marks, intensifying the competition for seats in India’s top medical colleges.
The unusual results raised concerns among parents and students, who alleged irregularities in the conduct and marking of the exam and called for an investigation.
But the NTA refuted these allegations, saying the “integrity of the exam had not been compromised” and that there were more high scorers this year because more students had taken the exam.
It also said that 1,563 candidates were given ‘grace points’ due to delays at exam centers and because a physics question was found to have two correct answers. Notably, 50 of the 67 top scorers achieved perfect grades thanks to these compensatory points.
But on June 13, India’s Supreme Court revoked the compensatory marks after several students filed petitions against the NTA’s decision, calling it “arbitrary” and “unfair.”
The Supreme Court has also asked to allow students who had received a grace score to retake the test. This will take place on June 23.
But protesters say the court’s ruling does not address the larger issues they raised, including allegations of paper leaks, cheating and systemic corruption.
The eye of the storm
Surbhi Sharma, 23, who took the exam for the fifth time this year and scored 650 marks, claims that paper leaks – which are rampant in India – are to blame for the fluctuation in scores.
She noted that despite a significant increase in the number of high scorers (in the 650-680 point range), there was no comparable increase among the mid-range (610-640 points).
“NTA officials have said that more candidates secured high scores as the paper was easier this year. But if that was the case, everyone should have done better and not just some of the candidates,” she claims.
Dr. Vivek Pandey, an activist who is assisting candidates with related court petitions, supports her position.
On June 1, he helped file a petition in the Supreme Court asking 10 students for permission to retake NEET, alleging that the question paper had been leaked from exam centers in Patna, the capital of Bihar state.
The Bihar Police launched an investigation into the allegations soon after the exam was conducted. On May 10, they announced the arrest of 13 people, including four students, in connection with a paper leak case.
On June 15, police sent a message to nine more students suspected of involvement in the case, asking them to cooperate in the investigation.
Manavjit Singh Dhillon, a senior police official, told the Times of India newspaper that the 13 suspects had allegedly leaked the question paper to 30 candidates at a ‘safe house’ a day before the exam in exchange for hundreds of thousands of rupees.
He separately told news agency PTI that during the course of investigation, officials had recovered postdated checks and partially burnt papers and had requested question papers from the NTA for reference.
In addition to allegations of paper leaks, the exam faced additional allegations of cheating and fraud.
Police have arrested three people in Delhi and six in Rajasthan for allegedly posing as NEET candidates to write the exam on their behalf. In the state of Gujarat, police arrested five people for their alleged involvement in a cheating plot at an exam center in Godhra.
Political brawl
The controversy has drawn criticism from opposition leaders who have accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led coalition government of “betraying the dreams” of millions of students.
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s silence on the issue and accused his government of “covering up the NEET scam”. The party has also demanded a Supreme Court-led probe into the alleged irregularities.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court will hear a batch of petitions related to the NEET exam results on July 8 – including requests to scrap the test.
