New Delhi: Only 813 candidates — 52 percent of those eligible — appeared for the NEET-UG re-examination for 2024, held Sunday. The retest had been offered as an option to the 1,563 candidates who were originally awarded compensatory or grace marks due to loss of time, which were subsequently cancelled.
The candidates who didn’t appear for the retest will retain their original scores, minus the grace marks. Those who did take it will have their scores revised, with the results expected to be announced on 30 June.
The retest was announced on 13 June, with the National Testing Agency (NTA) informing the Supreme Court that the high-powered committee established to examine the issue of the grace marks had decided to cancel the scorecards of these 1,563 candidates.
Yash Kataria, who had initially secured the 69th rank with 718 marks, was one of those who chose not to take the retest. His original score of 640 (without grace marks) is sufficient for qualifying, but his family is still worried about what will happen next.
Speaking to ThePrint over the phone, Kataria’s mother said, “He chose to hold on to his original score of 640, which is good, and we are hoping that he will get into a college with these marks. Our house is crowded with people after the results. He did not even get the time for revision. Students are not responsible for this mess, the system is.”
News agency ANI quoted Kataria as saying, “My question set was different. It felt like an injustice back then, but after normalisation, it was okay. Now they have taken the grace marks back; it is fine too. My actual score is safe.”
Many students who took the retest, and their parents, said the new question paper was tougher than the earlier one. Those who didn’t appear seem to have made peace with the marks allotted.
“My daughter can’t take this much stress over and over. All of this is taking a toll on her mental health. The system is collapsing. The government should do something about this. This is a huge failure,” said Mahesh Kadyan, whose daughter was eligible for the retest but didn’t appear.
Despite the retest, parents are still not assured that this is the end of their children’s troubles. They fear the exam could be held a third time, as the matter of paper leaks and irregularities is still in the courts.
“My son gave the retest on Sunday, and we were happy after the exam. But there is no surety that this is final. The controversy is still ongoing, and we don’t know what’s going to happen as the Supreme Court will hear the matter again on 8 July,” said Anil Ahlawat, father of a candidate who appeared for the retest.
However, if the exam is held again on an all-India level, Kataria will appear for it and is studying for that possibility.
“There is a chance that the exam could happen on an all-India level again. If that happens, he will appear for the exam,” said Kataria’s mother.
(Edited by Rohan Manoj)