EXCLUSIVE: NEET UG SC case — Here's what a few petitioners will be contending at tomorrow's hearing

The internet is abuzz with various hypotheses from experts, each offering different perspectives on the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024. The release of city and centre-wise results on Saturday, July 20, has sparked debate as experts scrutinise the data.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has come under the radar, particularly after announcing the results on June 4, ten days ahead of schedule, coinciding with the Lok Sabha election results. The early announcement turned out to be just the tip of the iceberg.

An unprecedented 67 students achieved the top rank, raising concerns about potential rank inflation and the involvement of unfair practices. The NTA explained this by disclosing that it had awarded grace marks to 1,563 candidates to make up for their loss of time and other technical glitches. After petitions were filed with the Supreme Court against these "arbitrary" grace marks, NTA conducted a re-test on June 23.

What are petitioners to contend at tomorrow's hearing?
EdexLive could establish contact with Lawyer Matthew Nedumpara, as he represents six petitioners who are set to take forward the matter in the Supreme Court tomorrow, Monday, July 22.

Here is a set of contentions that will be presented before the court during the proceedings regarding the NEET-UG 2024 examination.

1) Dashed hopes: The petitioners of the NEET UG 2024 Examination, scored over 600 marks, with some above 650. Based on previous rank lists, they had legitimate hopes of admission to government medical colleges. However, with 67 candidates scoring a perfect 720/720 this year, their prospects remain uncertain now

2) Court straying away from issue: According to the petitioners, who have been closely following the proceedings, "deliberations have strayed away from the core issues". They argue that the integrity of the examination and the necessary remedial steps have yet to be adequately addressed.

3) Acknowledge incident of paper leak: The petitioners argue that the materials presented in court and public domain leave no doubt that the question paper was leaked at multiple points, compromising the examination's integrity. This information is widely acknowledged by all.

4) Re-NEET: The petitioners state that since the integrity of the exam has been compromised, the only solution is a re-examination. Although this would involve significant costs and inconvenience, especially for high-scoring students, there is no alternative. They add that allowing admissions based on the current results would be unjust to thousands of students.

5) Shattering of faith: As per the petitioners, allowing admissions based on compromised results, tainted by leaks, impersonation, and arbitrary grace marks, would undermine the faith of honest students, their families, and the public in national competitive exams conducted by the NTA and Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

6) A solution: The petitioners recognise that organising a re-examination is complex but also believe it's necessary. It may be noted that there are 13 lakh qualified candidates out of 24 lakh, and only around 1,08,000 medical seats are available. If not re-NEET for all, a practical solution to ensure justice is that the exam should be conducted for NEET-qualified candidates, they say. 

7) A check on corruptive practices: Given that there are 55,000 seats in government medical colleges, students from modest backgrounds rely on these opportunities, while private college seats cost between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore, and are expensive. Medical education has become a multi-billion-dollar industry, and the paper leak circle also operates on a large scale. Hence, they emphasise making stricter provisions to keep a check on such practices.

8) Outsourcing can be problematic: According to the petitioners, "75 percent of all work of the NTA has been outsourced. Besides the permanent officials/staff, 426 are from outside, 45 on deputation, 147 on a contract basis and another 325 are entirely outsourced through private agencies." 

They argue that the criminals could also be involved with officials at the NTA, as neither the NTA nor the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has so far reported on the abnormal results at Sikar, Rajkot and other centres. Further, as per the NTA results published, many who have failed their Class XII examinations received a score of more than 700.

A few important revelations
Following the publication of results, at Haryana's Hardayal Public School test centre, which had previously been flagged due to six students scoring in the 99.99 percentile, only 13 students managed to score over 600 after the results of the re-test were republished.

At Hazaribagh's Oasis School, where the NTA admitted to a security breach before the Supreme Court, no students scored above 700. Among the 701 students, seven scored above 650.

At an Ahmedabad centre in Gujarat, 12 students out of 676 scored more than 700.

At a centre, Rajkot School of Engineering, in Gujarat's Rajkot, a whopping number of 112 students out of 1,968 scored more than 700, and in Powai Engineering College in Tamil Nadu's Namakkal, two students out of 1,017 received more than 700, while 52 students managed to get more than 650.

Sikar, the new winner?
The spotlight was on Sikar, Rajasthan, where over 149 students out of a total of 27,216 across various centres in the city scored above 700, with 2,037 students scoring above 650, and 4,297 students scoring above 600.

According to a Careers360 analysis, candidates from Sikar have a 575% better chance of securing an MBBS seat at a government institution.

Notably, 37 of the top 50 performing centres are from Sikar, Rajasthan.

Rajasthan also ranks highest among the top-performing cities in the NEET-UG 2024.

However, the exceptional performance in Sikar has sparked questions about whether the intensive coaching culture is driving the students' success or if there are still anomalies at play. As Founder of Careers360, Maheswar Peri, points out, the data does not provide a conclusive answer.While the data is out, petitioners and aspirants hold onto the fight for Re-NEET...

What do you think, will there be a final verdict tomorrow, or, crucial evidence might surface that will weigh for the students' cause? Let us know in the comments.