Cancelling grace marks addresses only part of the issue. What about the 24 lakh candidates? Doctors express concerns over the NTA decision.

New Delhi: The National Testing Agency's (NTA) decision to hold an optional re-NEET for 1563 affected candidates has upset a section of the medical fraternity. The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 examination impacts around 24 lakh candidates who appeared in the exam, not just the 1563 affected candidates.

When the bench was considering the issue of granting grace marks to compensate candidates for the loss of time, the Union Government and NTA informed the bench that they would cancel and withdraw the results of the 1563 candidates prepared based on the compensatory marks awarded to them.

These affected candidates will be notified about their actual scores obtained in the NEET UG 2024 exam held on May 5, 2024, and they will be given a choice of either retaining the original marks (without the compensatory marks) or appearing in a re-exam conducted by the NTA, likely on June 23. They further informed me that the results of this optional re-exam will be published before June 30, 2024, so that the counseling for NEET UG 2024 can commence on July 6, 2024.

Dr. Vivek Pandey, an RTI activist who previously sought details from the NTA regarding the rules applied for granting grace marks, commented on the recent decision. He stated that the issue has been overhyped and expressed his opinion on the government's decision to offer another opportunity to students who received grace marks, allowing them to either accept their current results or opt for a retest. Dr. Pandey emphasized that the primary concern that needs addressing is the NEET paper leak, which has significantly impacted the cutoff marks.

Regarding the role of the NTA, Dr. Pandey pointed out that it is an exam-conducting agency, not a fact-checking or investigating agency. He suggested that investigations into matters like paper leaks should be handled by law enforcement agencies such as the police or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

"The recent decision to cancel the scorecards of 1563 NEET-UG candidates due to grace marks and offer them a re-test addresses only part of the issue,"  "Such actions risk undermining the integrity of the entire examination process. Comprehensive investigation and transparency are essential to restoring trust and ensuring fairness for all candidates."

"Independent oversight and judicial intervention may be necessary to fully address the irregularities and uphold the credibility of the NEET-UG exam," he further emphasized.