813 of the 1,563 students slated for NEET-UG retest show up, others retain their score without the grace marks

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on June 23, 2024, conducted a retest for 1,563 students who were initially awarded grace marks in the National Eligibility Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG). However, only 813 students (52% of the total) opted for the retest while the rest chose to retain their actual scores without the grace marks.

The grace marks were granted based on losing time during the conduct of the exam in certain centres in the May 5 exam. These marks were meant to compensate for the time lost during test. However, upon the declaration of results, this sparked widespread protests across India, as the students who were awarded grace marks had jumped scores regardless of if they would’ve gotten the answer correctly or not had they attempted the paper.

Controversy Surrounding NEET-UG Grace Marks

None of the candidates eligible for the retest from Chandigarh appeared for the exam. 219 out of 602 sat for a retest in Chattisgarh, the only candidate from Gujarat had also appeared for a retest and 287 out of 494 appeared from Haryana, alongside 234 out of 464 from Meghalaya.

Even the briefest difference of percentile in these exams is a difference of hundreds of ranks. Students were furious. They had prepared endlessly for this exam only for grace marks to push someone in the 400 marks range of the total 720, to the 500 range. This had then effectively pulled those who may have deserved the spot more out of it—all on the basis of grace marks. Some reports suggested that some even got higher marks on section totals that could be awarded to the section, because of the questions they’d attempted and those that they hadn’t were all added up to form a higher grand total.

On June 13, the Centre decided to withdraw the scorecards issued to the 1,563 students. They were given two options: either appear for a fresh exam or keep their original score without the grace marks.  Opposite parties demanded a Supreme-Court monitored probe into allegations of paper leaks.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan defended the decision, emphasizing the need to safeguard the interests of lakhs of candidates who had rightfully cleared the exam. In response to the crisis, the Centre removed NTA director general Subodh Kumar Singh and appointed IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola. A seven-member committee was also formed to review the authority’s structure and processes.

NTA has also debarred 17 students appearing for the NEET-UG exam from Bihar, upon reports of malpractices from the state’s Economic Offences Unit. However, they haven’t made any comments on these student’s involvement in the paper leak.

“It is for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe now.”

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