"I am really confused, and anxious right now. I do not know where my future stands and what it has in store for me. I am angry as well because I do not know what the government is doing," laments Paridhi.
Paridhi is a National Eligibility and Entrance Test - Undergraduate (NEET UG) aspirant, and this year was her second time attempting the examination.
Paridhi scored a decent 640/720. Any other year, this would have led to a seat at one of the better medical colleges in or around Delhi, but this time, she has lost her hope. "I consider that I have a fair knowledge of the examination. I looked at previous years' scoring and the seat allotment and prepared accordingly, but now I feel at a loss because all my estimations and hard work are rendered meaningless due to the leaks," expressed a disoriented Paridhi.
Today, Monday, July 8, 2024, is slated to be the day when a bench led by the Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud will hear a batch of petitions, including a few seeking the cancellation of NEET-UG 2024 examinations.
Can it be called judgement day? Will there be a verdict finally? Will students be granted a much-needed respite? EdexLive deliberated with aspirants regarding their raging emotions and feelings on D-Day and the importance of a fair judgement.
Rank inflation, a matter of disbelief
Another NEET UG aspirant, Roma Agarwal, expressed her frustration with the whole procedure as she suggested that this time, due to purported scams and leaks, her future is at a standstill and she does not know what should be her re-course.
"I am surprised at how the rank has soared high. The paper set in the year 2020, which was relatively easier, had two toppers, is it possible that within four years, it will rise to 61?" expressed Roma.
Abiding by what the Supreme Court of India declared about the verdict, Roma said that they trusted that the judgement would be for the well-being of the students and there would be a re-NEET.
On June 18, the Supreme Court told the Centre and National Testing Agency (NTA) that if there is any negligence in conducting the NEET-UG, 2024 exam, it should be thoroughly dealt with.
A vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti observed, "If there is 0.001 per cent negligence on the part of anyone, it should be thoroughly dealt with. All these matters ought not to be treated as adversarial litigation," and sought a timely action from the NTA.
"Leaks cannot be isolated"
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, during a press conference in New Delhi, on June 20, 2024, said that due to the occurrence of such isolated incidents, the career of all students should not be held "hostage". Reiterating what he said, Roma added that given the technology at our disposal, such leaks happen within minutes and cannot be "isolated".
To this Paridhi adds that if the government is trying to hold these examinations only in selected cities or states, it would be unfair as it cannot be gauged that only certain students were affected.
Emphasising the elevated sense of anticipation, she said, "My anxiety is heightened due to the surrounding uncertainty. Students are opposing re-NEET but if they are hard-working, they would not mind working harder for some time more."
She further stressed that re-NEET is the only way ahead. "Would this batch of doctors love to be tagged as fake? We all should save our dignity and appear for the exam again," said Paridhi.
The deed is done
Vaibhav, an aspirant who too attempted the exam for the second time remorsefully said that his and many other students' confidence has been shattered. The results have been shrouded with uncertainty, and with the deferral of the counselling, he adds, students are now losing faith.
However, he added that there are a few students who have not yet lost the battleground and have started preparing themselves, in case there is a re-NEET. "There are a few hardworking students who are already sweating day and night for it. Coaching institutions like Allen and Akash have begun their re-NEET test series," said Vaibhav.
Vaibhav told EdexLive that despite his marks improving from the previous year, his rank dropped by nearly 1000 positions. "I hope the Supreme Court would recognise that several students put in their hard work, and would not let it go to waste. We are hoping that there will be another examination."
