What is NEET UG result 2024 controversy? Why are students protesting?

The Centre on Thursday proposed a retest for 1,563 students on June 23 who were given grace marks in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) this year.

This comes after the results caused an uproar, with aspirants and parents demanding a probe and re-examination, alleging that the paper was leaked at certain centres. 

The NEET-UG, which was earlier called the All-India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT), is the only entrance exam held each year for students seeking admission to undergraduate medical courses in all medical institutions throughout the country.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has been in charge of conducting the exam in thirteen languages including English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu, a role that was previously held by the Central Board of School Education (CBSE). 

Controversy surrounding NEET-UG results

This year, on May 5, over 24 lakh students appeared for NEET exam at 4,750 centres across 571 cities, including 14 international locations. The result was declared on June 4, which immediately caused a hue and cry with aspirants raising multiple issues, such as the awarding of grace marks to over 1,500 students, an unusually high number of students achieving perfect scores, and allegations of a leaked question paper.

The results showed that 67 students achieved a total score of 720, which is a higher percentage compared to the previous years' results. In 2023, only two students scored full marks, while three in 2022, two in 2021, and one in 2020. It is alleged that six of the toppers had appeared for the exam at the same centre in Haryana.

What Supreme Court said on NEET exam 

The Centre has told Supreme Court that it will conduct retest for 1,563 students, who were given grace marks in the NEET-UG 2024. The re-exam is to be held on June 23. 

The Supreme Court has decided not to stop the admissions counselling process. If any of the 1,563 candidates opt out of the retest, their previous marks without the grace marks will be used for the results. The results of the re-test will be announced on June 30, and the Centre announced that counselling for admission to MBBS, BDS, and other courses will commence on July 6.

What petitioners asked 

Three petitions were filed seeking the cancellation of the NEET UG 2024 test and the conduct of a retest due to alleged anomalies in the grant of grace marks. A bench of Judges Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta heard the petitions. 

Alakh Pandey, CEO of Physics Wallah, one of the petitioners argued that the NTA's decision to award grace marks was "arbitrary." He is reported to have collected feedback from approximately 20,000 students, indicating that around 70-80 marks were arbitrarily awarded as grace marks to at least 1,500 students.

The second petition was filed by Students Islamic Organisation (SIO) members Abdullah Mohammed Faiz and Dr. Shaik Roshan Mohiddin, requesting the re-examination of NEET. They, too, alleged that the grant of grace marks was arbitrary, noting that marks as high as 718 and 719 out of 720 (achieved by several students) were "statistically impossible"

The third petition was filed by NEET candidate Jaripiti Kartheek, challenging the award of grace marks as compensation for alleged lost time during the exam. He argued that the "normalisation formula" to award grace marks was at best unfair