The National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) (undergraduate) 2024 was administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which has notified the Supreme Court that a key piece of evidence supporting the claim that a widespread paper leak occurred the day before the exam on May 5 was manipulated to provide a “false impression of an early leak.”
The video in question purportedly shows a photo of the exam paper that was released on Telegram on May 4, according to an affidavit filed by the NTA, “but one image, which was edited, displays a timestamp of 17:40 P.M. on May 5, 2024.”
Furthermore, it appears from conversations in the Telegram channel that many declared the video to be phony. The NTA response states, “The timestamp was manipulated to create a false impression of an early leak.”
The NTA has also argued that social media conversations and comments support the editing of the photos in the video and the purposeful modification of the date to imply a May 4 leak.
“The screenshots demonstrate how the statements stated in the video are false…The response from NTA states, “An impartial third party uploaded a video showing how the date on the exam may be altered to display May 4 instead of the real date.
According to NTA, 153 instances of unfair tactics were reported, brought before a committee, and the committee subsequently provided suggestions for suitable action. According to the affidavit, the committee suggested that the results of 81 candidates be withheld and that 54 candidates be barred for a maximum of three years.
16 FIRs have been filed in relation to NEET (UG) 2024 as a consequence.
Additionally, the NTA has attempted to refute allegations that document leaks occurred in Sawai Madhopur and Patna.
The petitioners’ submission that 67 pupils achieved a perfect score of 720/720 was further addressed by the agency.
- Considering the grace marks given, six of the 67 students received a score of 720. They were unable to achieve 720/720 when the grace marks were removed, and the real result was 61.
- Of the 61 candidates, only 17 received 720/720 points based on the provisional answer keys, and 44 of those marks came from a change in one of the physics answer keys.
- The answer key adjustment allowed the 44 candidates who had previously received 715 marks for selecting the erroneous option to receive 720 marks instead. As a result, there were only 17 candidates in the real contest without the answer key being revised—a figure that is not much greater than in prior years.
The curriculum was trimmed by roughly 22-25% for the year 2024 based on the suggestions of a group that included representatives from about 32 different school boards.
Additionally, NTA has argued that it examined the outcomes of the top 100 applicants, who are spread among 95 centers in 56 cities across the nation’s 18 states and union territories.
“This diverse distribution highlights the widespread participation and competitive spirit among students from different regions and educational backgrounds,” stated the NTA.
The Supreme Court had declared earlier in July that there is no doubt that the May 5 NEET-UG was tainted by a question paper leak.
The NTA was ordered to report to the Court the procedures followed in order to identify the leak’s beneficiaries, the centers and cities where the leak occurred, and the methods used in order to identify the leak’s beneficiaries.
This affidavit has been submitted in accordance with that as well.
A number of petitions regarding purported anomalies, such as widespread question paper leaks, in this year’s NEET-UG exam administration have been brought before the court.
The Supreme Court declined to stop counseling for student admissions to medical colleges on June 11, although it did ask the NTA to reply to some of the petitions.
Both the Central government and the NTA had previously argued that there was no evidence of widespread confidentiality breaches, hence there was no need to postpone the exam or do another exam.
The case’s next hearing is scheduled for Thursday, July 11.
