National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Subodh Kumar has addressed concerns regarding the alleged irregularities and paper leaks in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). In a recent press conference, Kumar emphasized that no paper leak occurred and that the issues were confined to six exam centers, affecting only 1,600 out of 24 lakh candidates.
Kumar assured that the overall integrity of the exam was maintained, stating, "We have analysed all the things transparently and declared the results. Out of 4,750 exam centers, the problem was limited to six centers, and out of 24 lakh candidates, only 1,600 candidates were affected. The integrity of this exam throughout the country was not compromised."
He acknowledged that there were specific issues at these centers due to the wrong distribution of question papers, which affected about 16,000 candidates. Kumar explained that some candidates alleged they had less time to complete the exam. To address these concerns, the NTA has formed a grievance redressal committee of experts to look into the details of the time lost, including reports from the centers and CCTV footage.
Furthermore, Kumar mentioned that the Education Ministry has set up a panel to re-examine the results of over 1,500 students who were awarded grace marks. He assured that the admission process would not be impacted by this review.
Regarding the high number of top rankers, Kumar stated that the inflation of marks was due to changes in the NCERT textbooks and the grace marks given for lost time at the examination centers. Despite these adjustments, he confirmed that the compensation with grace marks has not affected the qualifying criteria.
In summary, Kumar reiterated the transparency and fairness of the NEET examination process, addressing the concerns raised by the candidates and ensuring that the issues were limited and managed appropriately.
