Bhubaneswar: The National Eligibility-cumEntrance Test – Undergraduate (NEET-UG), conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA), has come under severe criticisms over the ‘irregularities’ in the results that were declared June 4. Several aspirants of the medical entrance test have alleged of inflated marks which led to a record 67 candidates bagging the top rank, including eight from one exam centre.
The NTA, however, denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres are some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks. A cursory glance at the toppers’ scores in previous years reveals that in 2021, three students got the perfect score of 720/720. In 2022, not a single student got the perfect score. The highest was 715 and four students got it. In 2023, two students got the perfect score. However, this year, a whopping 67 students got 720/720. What raised eyebrows was the fact that a few students have scored 718 or 719 out of the total 720. This looks well nigh impossible as the marking pattern for the exam is four marks for each question and one mark is deducted for every wrong answer (negative marking). The candidates urged clarification regarding the matter.
However, students, parents, doctors and educationist Orissa POST spoke to are not satisfied over the clarifications made by the NTA that it received representations and court cases from candidates raising concerns about loss of time during the exam, and, therefore, such candidates were compensated with grace marks.
Mihir Ranjan Nayak, professor of Psychiatry at the SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack, whose son Arjya Pratyush Nayak appeared for the test, said even top rankers will not get top seats in premier medical institutions because of lack of adequate seats with such scores. “Then what is the point scoring good marks,” he asked. Also, he said, the ‘advance’ declaration of the results— June 4, instead of the scheduled June 14 — without any notice also raises a lot of questions. He said the conduct of the test in online mode should be promoted so as to ensure more clarity.
Suprit Mishra, a NEET aspirant from the state who scored 690 marks, said the irregularities have hampered his chances of getting admission in any good institution despite working hard for two years in preparing for the test. “I hoped of studying in AIIMSBhubaneswar, but my chances of getting a seat appears a distant dream now. Awarding grace marks in this exam is unacceptable. They should have been given grace time, and not grace mark,” he added.
Another aspirant, Pritam Patra, who scored 715 marks, said the grace mark issue will certainly be a worrying factor for students who missed the chance to get admission by a whisker. “Although I am not demanding a re-examination, but matching action should taken against those who obtained grace marks, or they should be subjected to some specific examination,” he said.
“I want the NEET to recheck the ranks and deal with the controversies surrounding grace marks,” said Rounak Mallick who scored 695 marks in NEET.
Subasish Behera, a dentist and health expert, said NEET being the gateway for admission into medical and dental courses, it is necessary that the selection process be modified. “Proper rules and systems should be formulated and put in place as meritorious students should get seats, rather than the nonmeritorious ones. We are looking at the future doctors of a new India. If colleges get average students, the quality of doctors would also be of average. For me, quality is more important than quantity,” he added.
Amrit Pattajoshi, a medical practitioner, said exams should be skilledbased, and not of multiple choice question (MCQ) pattern. “We come across a lot of students who know how to do MCQ. But when they join colleges, they neither have the motivation, nor do they have the temperament to follow it up. Students should also undergo mandatory internship for a couple of months at a medical set up before they are deemed eligible to sit for medical exams,” he said.
Subhransu Dash, a college student, said, “This entire NTA with the NEET (UG) test is a total mess! No wonder students everywhere are angry over cutting grace marks and inflating scores. This feels like such an unfair disadvantage. I can feel what the students are going through. I stand with them in this fight against this terrible decision,” he said.
ARINDAM GANGULY, OP
