The Supreme Court is set to conduct an important hearing today on the NEET-UG case, a matter that affects the future of students nationwide. Anticipation mounts as the court may soon deliver its verdict on whether the NEET-UG 2024 examination will be nullified and retaken. Following the submission of affidavits by the central government and NTA, the CBI has also submitted its affidavit in sealed cover. Discover what the central government and NTA have mentioned in their affidavits.
In the petitions filed by students with the Supreme Court, there are calls for a re-examination of the allegedly leaked question paper and for a valid investigation. The bench comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Mishra is hearing multiple pleas related to irregularities in the medical entrance examination. The Centre and NTA have denied any mass irregularities in the exam held on May 5. The CBI has now filed its response in the Supreme Court. Earlier on Wednesday, the central government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) had submitted their affidavits. The central government has already communicated to the court that it is not in favor of reconducting the NEET examination.
What did the Supreme Court say in the last hearing...
The court had inquired from the Centre and NTA about the security measures taken for the question paper, its transportation to the exam centers, and the possibilities of a leak. It called for affidavits detailing the entire process. The court also stated that it would order a re-examination only as a last resort if it is not satisfied with the investigation progress and the extent of the impact of the alleged paper leak.
CJI stated that if the sanctity of the examination is compromised, re-examination has to be ordered. If it is not possible to distinctively identify the tainted from the untainted, re-examination becomes mandatory. If the leak happened through electronic means, it could spread like wildfire and lead to a widespread leak.
Learn about the main points of the central government's affidavit...
- The government stated in the affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court that Madras IIT has been requested to help with data analysis to probe those involved in the irregularities. - Data analysis of those who scored high marks indicates no significant irregularities as the graph quickly rises and falls, resembling the shape of a bell curve. - The central government has decided to conduct NEED counseling in the third week of July as a precautionary measure while the investigation is concurrent. - Counseling will be conducted in four phases to ensure any student benefiting from irregularities is identified and dealt with appropriately at any of these stages. - The central government has previously informed the court that it opposes reconducting the NEET exam, ensuring that the burden of a retake is not imposed on 23 million candidates based on 'unsubstantiated suspicions.' - The government has assured that measures are taken to make sure no candidate guilty of misconduct reaps any benefits. - The Education Ministry had requested IIT Madras to assist in analyzing the data of NEET exam 2024 candidates. - IIT Madras has conducted an analysis city-wise and center-wise for 2 years (2023 and 2024), focusing on the top 1.4 lakh ranks. - According to IIT Madras' analysis, there are no signs of a large-scale irregularity, nor evidence suggesting any particular center's candidates receiving undue advantages, leading to abnormal scores. - IIT Madras' study indicates an overall increase in candidate marks, especially in the range of 550 to 720 marks. This increase is observed across all cities and centers, attributed to the 25% syllabus cut. - Candidates who scored higher marks are from different cities and centers, negating the possibility of any large-scale malpractices. - The central government has also indicated that counseling will commence in July's third week, spread across four phases. Any candidate found involved in irregularities will have their candidacy canceled during or even after the counseling process at any stage.
What did the NTA say in its affidavit to the Supreme Court...
- The NTA clarified that the alleged irregularities were confined to centers in Patna and Godhra and should not be grounds for canceling the entire examination. It is incorrect to assert that high-scoring students are solely from certain centers. - Results of students involved in the irregularities have been withheld, and show-cause notices for punitive action and disqualification have been issued. - No missing question papers were found in the Patna/Hazaribagh case. Each question paper has a unique serial number assigned to a specific candidate. - No broken locks were found. The reports of NTA observers did not indicate any adverse findings. - Continuous monitoring of the CCTV coverage in the command center revealed no untoward incidents or indications of a leak. - The alleged leak on Telegram has been denied by the NTA. A picture of an exam paper supposedly leaked on Telegram on May 4 has been shown, but an edited photo displays a timestamp of 17:40 on May 5, 2024. - Discussions within the Telegram channel suggest that members considered the video fake. - The manipulation of the timestamp was done to create a false impression of an early leak.
Read also: 'No need to reconduct NEET examination...', Centre submits affidavit in SC on paper leak
- Comments and discussions on social media confirm that the images in the video were edited, and the date was deliberately changed to suggest a leak on May 4. - Screenshots from the video expose the fabricated nature of the claims made. - NTA has provided clarification for 61 candidates' perfect scores of 720, explaining that only 17 out of the 61 had achieved the full score, with the remaining 44 benefitting from a correction in the Physics answer key. - Due to differences between old and new editions of the NCERT textbook, subject experts agreed that two options, instead of one, could be considered correct for a particular question. - 44 candidates, who mistakenly chose the wrong option and initially scored 715 marks, were able to achieve 720 marks due to the correction in the answer key. - Consequently, without the answer key revision, the actual number of candidates scoring 720/720 was only 17, not significantly higher compared to previous years. - The 17 candidates with perfect scores were distributed across 16 centers in 15 cities. - Similarly, the 61 candidates who attained 720/720 marks were spread over 58 centers in 41 cities across the country. - Measures will be taken to ensure the integrity of the NEET exam, under the coordination of a seven-member committee appointed by the government on 22.06.2024, consisting of experts from various fields/areas of expertise. - Options being considered include changing the examination's operation methods upon stakeholders' consultation, transitioning from pen-and-paper mode (OMR-based) to computer-based testing (CBT), and exploring additional alternatives to completely prevent any misconduct affecting the exam's sanctity and integrity.
Read also: 'Irregularities only at centers in Patna and Godhra', NTA's affidavit in Supreme Court opposes cancellation of NEET-UG exam
