Calls to scrap controversy-ridden NEET grow louder

The National Testing Agency (NTA) is losing trust and credibility across the country over the recent controversy surrounding the National Eligibility and Entrance Test (NEET) UG 2024 exam, with many states now demanding the abolition of the nationwide medical entrance test.

The West Bengal Legislative Assembly recently passed a motion abolishing the test in the state. The move follows a similar decision in Karnataka to opt out of NEET for admission in medical undergraduate courses.

The West Bengal government will establish a new entrance exam system for students seeking to pursue medical courses. The decision aims to provide more opportunities for state students and address concerns over NEET's centralized format.

Earlier, on July 22, Karnataka's cabinet approved the proposal, and they are set to pass a resolution in both Houses during the ongoing session. DK Shivakumar, the deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, said the NEET exam benefits students only from North India.

He said, "The NEET exam must be abolished immediately, and the Union Government must allow states to conduct their own exams. Karnataka has developed colleges; however, the NEET examination benefits North Indian students (only) while depriving our own students. We all have to unitedly fight against this."

“This is a right step taken by Karnataka govt.,” a handle called @prishamaravar wrote on X. “Education is a state subject and NEET and likes are regressive exams which create further impediments for the students from marginalized segments of society.”

Not only West Bengal and Karnataka, but even Tamil Nadu has announced plans to abolish the NEET examination, and return to the previous system of state-based medical admissions based on Class 12 scores.

"NEET, which affects the opportunities of students from rural areas in accessing medical education and snatches the rights of state governments to admit students to medical colleges, should be scrapped." The Union Government should approve the Tamil Nadu Assembly's bill seeking exemption for the state," the Tamil Nadu resolution read.

Moreover, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government on July 25 for alleged anomalies in the medical entrance examination, demanding the abolition of NEET and the resumption of the "old system" of medical admissions.

"The union government failed to ensure the people that it could properly conduct such an important exam, exacerbating the dilemma. Therefore, why not end the centralized NEET UG, PG exam and reinstate the old system, as several state governments demand?" she said in the post on X.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court recently dismissed requests to cancel and re-conduct the NEET-UG 2024 exam. The court found no proof of widespread cheating or question paper leaks. This verdict favors the government and the NTA, which have faced criticism and protests over suspected exam malpractices.

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala, and Manoj Misra concluded the day-long proceedings by hearing submissions from a group of lawyers, including Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who represented the government and the NTA.

Earlier, acknowledging the paper leak, CJI Chandrachud said, "It is an admitted fact that there is a leak. The nature of the leak is what we are considering. The leak cannot be disputed. The consequences of it are what we are considering."

In the final verdict on July 23, the Supreme Court acknowledged that the question paper leak was not in dispute. CJI said that there is currently insufficient evidence in the file to draw the conclusion that the exam's result was vitiated or that there was a systemic breach in the exam's sanctity.

The problem involves not just the NEET but also the NTA, which administers several national-level entrance examinations. Numerous national admission examinations have had concerns to date. The NEET PG test 2024 was postponed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Due to suspicions of a paper leak, the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) 2024 exam was also canceled on June 19, a day after it took place.

Additionally, the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (CSIR UGC-NET) was also postponed. New dates for the exams have been released.

Amidst UGC NET chaos, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) is considering a u-turn to in-house entrance for PhD admissions. The Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association (JNUTA) said that they were looking into the possibility of bringing back JNU's previous entrance examination system. However, no decision has been made thus far, and the administration has only requested suggestions from the stakeholders.

All of these disputes, court challenges, and protests have discouraged many medical aspirants who have worked tirelessly to get admission to medical colleges and achieve their dream of becoming successful doctors. Many of them have lost faith in the system and the government and have decided to study medicine abroad.

The NTA administered the NEET-UG 2024 to over 24 lakh students at 4,750 centers in 571 locations (including 14 abroad) on May 5. The results of the NEET UG 2024 were announced on June 4.

Soon after the results of the NEET-UG exam were announced, it was embroiled in a controversy with allegations of various anomalies and paper leak. Concerns were expressed about the 67 perfect scorers with six of them being just from a teaching facility in Bahadurgarh, Haryana.

The NEET-UG 2024 examination is held for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH, and other related courses in government and private institutions.

Questions were raised concerning 1,563 students being awarded "grace marks."

There was a retest for those 1,563, but hundreds of applicants did not show up, and many of those who did appear for the exam, received far lower scores.

Among those who received a score of 682 in the retest as opposed to 720 in the original test, were candidates from the above mentioned Haryana center.

Meanwhile, the central government has confirmed there are no plans to discontinue the NEET exam or the counseling process and restore state-wise entrance exams.

Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar said in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha on July 24 that the NEET-UG exam will continue as usual.