NEET 2024 ALLEGATIONS ,A REAL SCAM OR REAL MISTAKE ?

 

The Medical Entrance Examination (NEET-UG) 2024 has been the subject of numerous allegations of anomalies, leading to controversy surrounding the exam. Take a look at what we now know, which includes students calling for ‘reneet’, pleading for a CBI investigation, grace marks, paper leaks, and now a political controversy. The ‘reneet’ campaign is trending all over India.

 

FACTUAL REASON FOR THE CONTROVERSY

 

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has used a normalizing formula in the valuation of the NEET exam occurred on May 5^th,  2024. The normalizing formula means, giving compensatory marks or grace mark to the students. Here in the case of 2024 NEET, NTA has provided a grace mark to 1563 students, who attended the exam. The reason for such distribution is that those students were not allowed to write  the exam for the full duration of time, from the centres. For compensating the time loss NTA provided grace mark to such number of students. This decision of NTA have caused huge ambiguity in the results.

 

Usually according to mark system of NEET a student who have correctly marked the whole full answers will get 720 marks.

 

NEET 2024 Distribution of Marks

 

The distribution of Marks for NEET 2024 is as follows:

 

1. NEET 2024 question paper carries a total of 720 marks.

 

2. The question paper has four sections, namely Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology

Each section carries 180 marks. Each subject/section is further divided into two Section A (140 marks) and Section B (40 marks). Four marks are granted for each correct answer given by the candidate. NEET 2024 has a negative marking scheme, and 1 mark will be deducted for every incorrect response.

 

After 720 the expected mark is 716, but in 2024 it many students achieved various ranges of marks between 720 and 716. This mark distribution gives way to a lot of controversies, including paper leaks and malpractices.

 

Judicial Intervention

 

Due to increased allegations and various pleas and petitions in front of the Supreme Court of India, On June 14^th, 2024 Supreme Court heard various pleas of NEET 2024. The Union government has submitted before the court ( Vacation Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta ) that score cards of such students who were allotted with grace marks have been cancelled. The students allotted with grace marks will be allowed to write the examination which is going to be conducted on June 30, 2024. The Supreme Court also decides to hear the allegation of paper leaks on July 8 .

 

Increasing allegations of malpractices and paper leak

 

Gujarat Police detained five people on June 14 in relation to suspected medical examination cheating in a Godhra center, including the head of a coaching center, as the controversy around the purported irregularities in the NEET-UG exam rages on. The chances of malpractice are increasing day by day. The supreme Court On June 18 2024 issued notice to NTA, Centre on NEET-UG 2024 pleas, notice supreme court said that “If there is 0.001% negligence on the part of anyone it should be thoroughly dealt with,” the Supreme Court bench said. The top court added that we cannot forget the efforts of the children who have prepared for the exams. The Supreme Court is more concerned about students and the transparency of NTA.

 

More handcuffs to be worn on hands behind NEET malpractices

 

The malpractices in the public examination were the greatest threat to the ethics of examination in India. The Supreme Court on June 18 2024 emphasized the concern about the malpractices in NEET 2024  "Just imagine a doctor treating who has passed like this and needs to be checked," the top court said. It also told the Centre and the NTA not to take petitions filed against the NEET-UG as adversarial litigation. The apex court also directed both entities to admit and rectify if there is some mistake in conducting the test.

 

·         Illegality in malpractices in public examinations

 

Before 12^th February 2024 malpractices in exam doesnot have any special legal enactment . But on 12^th February 2024 when ‘THE PUBLIC EXAMINATIONS (PREVENTION OF

UNFAIR MEANS) ACT 2024 received assent from president . From that time onwards malpractices in public examinations have separate penal provisions other than IPC (Indian Penal Code). This enactment increases the depth of penalty to the penal provisions in the Act. In Chapter -II of the Act ‘UNFAIR MEANS AND OFFENCES’ are specially described.

 

According to Section. 3 of the Act :-

§  Leaking question papers or answer keys

§  Assisting candidates during exams (unauthorized communication, providing solutions)

§  Tampering with computer networks or resources

§  Impersonating candidates

§  Conducting fake examinations or issuing fake documents

§  Tampering with documents for merit lists or ranks

The penal ambit after this enactment has increased widely. When understanding the current scenario of the NEET examinations the penal provisions is very relevant. Every kind of malpractices is defined properly in the Act.

What all are public examinations under the Act 2024

The Schedule in the Act of 2024 explained about the public examinations covered under the Act it includes

§  UPSC

§  Railway Recruitment Boards

§  Institute of Banking Personnel Selection

§  NTA

§  Departments of the central government and their attachment and subordinate officers for recruitment of staff

§  NTA

§  Such authorities notified by central government

Because of the increased scam in NEET examinations and  by due consideration of  business competitions behind the medical entrance coaching institutes in the NEET examination field, the NTA is specially included as a public examination of greater importance.

·         Increased fine in the Act 2024

 

Penalties and Punishments:

·         Individuals:

·         Imprisonment ranging from 3 to 10 years depending on the offense severity

·         Fines up to Rs. 1 crore for organized crimes

·         Service providers:

·         Fines up to Rs. 1 crore for involvement in malpractices

·         Barring from conducting public examinations for 4 years

·         Personal liability for directors/management involved

·         Organized crimes:

·         Harsher penalties, with imprisonment between 5 and 10 years and a minimum fine of Rs. 1 crore

·         Institution involved can face property attachment and forfeiture

 

Here by reading Act 2024, if the scam behind NEET is proven in the upcoming days, the institutes, individuals, and service providers, will face with huge fine which may go up to One crore. If more institutions are involved they will also face serious consequences like attachment of property and fines which may go up to One crore. So it is necessary to conduct a judicial inquiry into the NEET 2024. Because of the increased allegations against the NTA, the opposition ( INDIA bloc ) will use this allegation as a tool against the lead government on the day of the commencement of 18^th Parliament on June 24, 2024.