The NEET 2024 results announcement has sparked a flurry of controversy across India, with claims of irregularities and problems with transparency casting doubt on the exam’s legitimacy. There has been a petition filed at the Supreme Court in response to increased calls for the exam to be cancelled due to allegations of question paper leaks.

In addition to thousands of other students around the country, the dispute has impacted approximately 100,000 West Bengal kids who are all dealing with the same difficult circumstances.

A lot of students and their parents have questioned the reliability of the NEET 2024 results, claiming that it is not feasible to receive a score of 718 or 719 out of 720. They clarified their facts by stating that each question is worth four points, and that a wrong response results in a four-mark deduction as well as an extra penalty of one mark, which makes such high scores implausible.

Concerns have also been expressed over the unparalleled accomplishment of 67 applicants who received a perfect score of 720, six of whom came from the same testing facility. Students and their families are suspicious of this odd circumstance because there have never been more than two or three high scorers in a prior year. As such, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has been asked to provide an affidavit to the High Court regarding this issue.

In retaliation, the NTA sent a press release claiming that the exceptionally high results were caused by timing errors, which resulted in several candidates receiving ‘grace marks’. The organisation rejected any accusations of dishonesty and instead blamed the higher cut-off marks on more test-takers.

The unhappy contenders assert that these figures were manipulated and tainted by corruption, and that the results were disclosed ten days early, in line with the outcome of the Lok Sabha poll, in order to conceal the purported anomalies.

A press conference was organized to address this issue and was graced by Dr. Kunal Sarkar and Dr. Arkadeep Biswas.

Renowned physician Kunal Sarkar underlined the long-term effects, and said, “We have to keep in mind that these doctors will be in charge of our families’ health for the next five to ten years. For their future, we must band together and fight. Losing to a more talented student is ok. But losing to someone due to some unfair means is not a good thing for the students”.

Physician and educator Dr. Arkaadeep Biswas said that whereas students with 600 scores in the past were able to get into respected medical colleges, this year’s anomalies may prevent even those with 650 from being able to pursue a medical degree.

The two doctors urged the society to protest against such injustices or else the future of the students will be in the wrong hands.

Priyanka Dutta