New Delhi: As lakhs of students and parents protest across India against the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination, the National Testing Agency released a document highlighting 37 frequently asked questions (FAQs) amid the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2024 results controversy. The document answers the current row over alleged paper leaks and high marks.
The NTA, which conducts the medical entrance and declares the result based on the eligibility criteria, released the document Wednesday.
This document covers issues related to result declaration and irregularities, offering guidance on viewing OMR sheets. The agency has also addressed questions regarding the paper leak incidents in Patna and Sawai Madhopur, where Hindi medium students were mistakenly given question papers in English and vice versa.
The agency further presented the document on its official handle on social media plattform ‘X’
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) related to Post Declaration of the NEET (UG) – 2024 Result are available at the URLhttps://t.co/sgTXkPyV3E
— National Testing Agency (@NTA_Exams) June 12, 2024
Also Read: ‘I didn’t fail the exam, system failed me’—NEET 2024 students go back to preparing again
Mismanagement at exam centres
The NTA’s FAQ document for NEET-UG 2024 addresses a total of 37 questions, including concerns about paper leaks, specifically mentioning the cases in Godara and Patna. The agency has assured candidates that significant measures have been taken to prevent such occurrences in the future.
“It is to be noted that none of the reports are backed with evidence that may indicate a paper leak. These cases seem to be related to cheating/impersonation and not to paper leaks,” the document reads.
“NTA has recently received communication from Patna Police regarding the requirement of documents concerning certain candidates. All relevant information and documents have been proactively provided to them. NTA remains committed to fully supporting and assisting all investigations and law enforcement agencies involved in this matter.”
The NEET 2024 results were announced on 4 June. Following the announcement, students and coaching centres flagged their concerns about irregularities, such as a high number of candidates holding rank 1, with a total of six students from one centre achieving rank 1, high cut-offs, and alleged paper leaks.
Addressing these allegations, the NTA held a press conference to clarify the results and deny the paper leak claims. They acknowledged incidents like the one in Sawai Madhopur.
“It was found that the Centre Superintendent had mistakenly distributed QPs intended for Hindi medium candidates to those taking the English medium exam, and vice versa. This led to agitation by some candidates, who left the examination centre with question papers, despite efforts by the Centre Staff to prevent them from doing so,” the NTA document states.
“It was also found that copies of this Question Paper were circulated on social media around 4:25 P.M., creating the impression that the QP was leaked before the commencement of the examination. It is important to emphasise that, even though the QP was taken out by some students and circulated on the Internet, there is no way any external person or agency could access the centres once the examination started,” it adds.
Female candidates increased, most candidates from UP
The NTA has shared data on the increase in the number of male and female applicants for NEET, as well as the caste division. According to the document, there has been a significant increase in total registrations.
“There is an increase of 16.85% in total registrations, with a 15.71% increase in males and a 17.84% increase in females,” the NTA document states.
Regarding categories, there has been an increase across the board. “An 8.17% increase in General, 19.72% in SC, 20.46% in ST, 20.12% in OBC-NCL, and 24.34% in Gen-EWS was witnessed,” the document adds.
The maximum number of NEET applicants and participants are from Uttar Pradesh, followed by Maharashtra and Rajasthan. A total of 344,599 students registered for NEET from Uttar Pradesh, out of which 335,004 appeared and 165,047 qualified.
From Maharashtra, 282,051 candidates registered, 275,457 appeared, and 142,665 qualified. Rajasthan had 178,756 registered candidates, with 174,893 appearing, and 121,240 qualifying.
Overall, approximately 13.16 lakh candidates qualified for NEET 2024.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: NTA chief denies NEET ‘paper leak’, says 4-member panel to look into alleged discrepancies