A representation has been sent to the National Testing Agency (NTA) on behalf of the All India JEE NEET Students Association (AIJNSA) demanding the agency to look into the allegations of discrepancy in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) results.
On Friday, June 23, Tanvi Dubey, a Supreme Court advocate, sent the representation to Subodh Kumar Singh, Director General of NTA, on behalf of the association.
Several individual representations have also been sent to the agency by parents and students who have faced discrepancies in the results.
"This is a serious matter of concern. While at the outset, tampering cannot be alleged and there might also be some technical glitch. However, a timely response from NTA is paramount at the very earliest because if the counselling begins, it will be very difficult to redress the problem as someone else would have been allocated the seat by then, based on the same score. Transparency is the very pillar of the evaluation process and the same principles should be followed to strengthen the trust of the candidates in the NEET examination, which is one of the toughest competitive exams,” expressed Advocate Tanvi Dubey.
NEET result discrepancies
The letter that has been sent to the NTA highlights a number of concerns among the NEET aspirants who appeared for the medical entrance examination on May 7, 2023.
Students have alleged that there is a difference in their expected score as per the OMR sheet which was uploaded on NTA’s website on June 4 and in the scorecard which was released by the NTA on June 13.
Few students even received blank OMR sheets via the NTA's website. Moreover, in many cases, parents and students alleged that the handwriting and signature used on the OMR sheet received were not the same as the original, hinting towards OMR tampering.
Lastly, a few students alleged that they did not receive a copy of the OMR sheet through email or on the NTA's website.
The association, along with a few aggrieved parents, also visited the NTA office in New Delhi to demand a carbon copy of OMR sheets. However, they were unable to get a response from the authorities.
Vishwanath Kumar, National Vice-President, AIJNSA, told Edex Live, "The same thing happened in 2022 as well. This year, we will reach out to NTA to get a resolution in the matter. If we do not get a response from the NTA, we will move Delhi High Court."
Last year, a plea was submitted in Madras High Court by a NEET aspirant claiming OMR tampering with the results. The Madras High Court directed the NTA to provide the original answer sheet to the candidate in October 2022.