(The Hindu) A day after the National Testing Agency (NTA) said that it would re-conduct the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2024 for 1,563 candidates who were given grace marks on June 23, aspirants continued to protest in the national capital for their remaining demands, with some marching to the Education Ministry to put forth their request for a national retest.
The Indian Foreign Medical Students (IFMS), whose members went on the protest march on Friday, wrote to the Centre demanding a retest, a CBI inquiry into the conduct of the exam, strict action against officials and individuals involved in the irregularities and malpractice, and transparency in the examination process in the future.
“For greater transparency, the total number of questions attempted by each student, in total and categorized by subject, should be included on the OMR sheet. This must be duly verified by the invigilator to prevent any tampering or manipulation,” they suggested. They also called for a provision of 15 minutes of extra time for students to do the same.
The protesting candidates and their parents who marched from the Central Secretariat to the Education Ministry were firm on the demand that NEET counselling should not be conducted as scheduled.
On the same day (14th June), Gujarat Police arrested five persons connected to a NEET test centre in Godhra on the charges of helping students cheat in the exam. As per the police complaint lodged in Godhra, around a dozen students, their parents and a Vadodara-based NEET coaching centre run by a group of teachers were involved in the scam.
Those students whose parents had paid money were reportedly asked to skip the questions for which they did not know the answers and later on those answers were to be filled in by the teachers as per their arrangement. The scam was allegedly set to be carried out at the Jay Jalaram School, an exam centre at Parvadi village in Godhra.
The Congress on Friday stepped up its attack on the Union government over irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) by questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “silence” on the matter. The Opposition party said that only a forensic investigation under the supervision of the Supreme Court could protect the future of lakhs of young students.
Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the Modi-led government has started “covering up the NEET scam” through Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the National Testing Agency.
“If the paper was not leaked in NEET then — why were 13 accused arrested in Bihar due to paper leak? Did the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Patna police not expose the payment of ₹30 lakh to ₹50 lakh to the education mafia and organised gangs involved in the racket in exchange for papers?” Mr. Kharge asked in a post on X.
“Has NEET-UG cheating racket not been busted in Godhra, Gujarat,” he asked. Three people, including a person running a coaching centre, a teacher and another person were involved.
According to Gujarat Police, transactions worth over ₹12 crore have come to light between the accused, he added.
Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh claimed that “NEET under this regime is more like CHEAT — Central Hyped Entrance Admission Test”, but also pointed out that the NEET-UG “paper scandal” was not unique.
“Uttar Pradesh has witnessed more than 40 paper leaks under BJP rule and Gujarat has emerged as the paper leak capital, from where leaks are orchestrated across the country. Madhya Pradesh is of course well known for the gigantic Vyapam scandal,” he said in a post on social media platform X.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also accused the new BJP government of attacking the dreams of the youth.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera said, “PM Modi cannot always remain a mute spectator. Why is he silent when the future of 24 lakh youngsters is at stake?”