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NEET 2024: An Educational Catastrophe of Unseen Proportions

NEET 2024: From corrupt counselling agents to proxy candidates, and from the NTA's continued lies and malpractices to the erosion of educational standards, the NEET scandal is more extensive than one might imagine.

By Varghese George
New Update
NEET 2024 scam

NEET 2024: An Educational Catastrophe of Unseen Proportions | Representative image | Photo courtesy: Special arrangement

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NEET 2024

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) process, from its convoluted administration to its opaque results announcement, epitomises one of the most egregious educational scams in recent history. Unlike typical scams quantified by financial losses, NEET's impact transcends monetary dimensions. It is a scam of colossal magnitude, affecting lakhs of students and involving tens of thousands of crores of rupees.

Hardworking students, who deserve fair opportunities, are being sidelined while less deserving candidates are reaping benefits. This skewed system has driven many students into depression, with some tragically resorting to suicide. Despite this crisis, the response from the education ministry has been to downplay the severity, offering reassurances that everything is essentially in order when in reality the situation has only gone from bad to worse in recent years. 

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate), commonly known as NEET (UG), is the premier pre-medical entrance examination in India. Formerly known as the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT), NEET (UG) serves as the gateway for students aspiring to pursue undergraduate medical (MBBS), dental (BDS), and AYUSH (BAMS, BUMS, BHMS and other) courses in both government and private institutions across the country. It also facilitates those intending to obtain primary medical qualifications abroad.

The exam is administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA), an autonomous organisation responsible for conducting the test and providing the results to the Directorate General of Health Services under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. These results are then used by State Counselling Authorities for the allocation of seats. The role of the NTA is crucial, as it ensures the standardisation and fairness of the examination process, which directly impacts the future of millions of aspiring medical professionals in India.

NEET 2024: The Scam

NEET 2024 results
NEET 2024 results | Photo courtesy: NTA

In 2023, a staggering 20,87,462 students registered for the NEET (UG) exam, with 20,38,596 students actually appearing. Out of these, 11,45,976 students managed to qualify. However, the results from NEET 2024 have raised alarming concerns about the integrity of the examination process.

A review of the top 100 candidates in NEET (UG) 2024 reveals shocking and unprecedented results, suggesting that the exam may be fundamentally flawed. Remarkably, 67 students secured the first All India Rank (AIR 1), each achieving a perfect score of 720 out of 720. This anomaly has raised suspicions among parents and students interviewed by The Probe, who argue that achieving such a score is extremely difficult.

A comparison with NEET 2022 underscores the improbability of these results: only two students attained a perfect score of 720 in that year. This stark contrast shows irregularities and raises serious questions about the credibility of the NEET examination system.

Neet 2024 results 2
NEET 2024 results | Photo courtesy: NTA

Among the students achieving perfect scores in NEET 2024, six share sequential seat numbers and hail from Haryana, suggesting they might have tested at the same centre. This raises severe concerns about the integrity of the examination process.

Further scrutiny reveals even more alarming discrepancies. After the perfect score of 720, the next highest scores are 719 and 718. Given NEET’s marking system,

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