It's exam time again. The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance (NEET-UG) retest for 1,563 candidates is being reconducted today after the testing agency withdrew the grace marks awarded to them to make up for the loss of time.
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The medical entrance exam retest will be held at seven centres - six of them new. "While all other examination centres have changed, the one in Chandigarh, where only two candidates will appear, will remain the same," said a senior NTA official.
Officers from the National Testing Agency, the exam body, and the Education Ministry will also be present at these centres to ensure smooth conduct of the exam, said the official.
On June 13, the testing agency informed the Supreme Court that the scorecards of 1,563 candidates who were awarded "grace marks" in the NEET-UG 2024 exam would be cancelled and these candidates would have the option to reappear for the exam on June 23, the results of which will be declared before June 30, or forgo the compensatory marks given for the loss of time.
The exam was held first on May 5 and its results were declared on June 4, ahead of its scheduled announcement date of June 14. Protests were held alleging irregularities and paper leaks as the results showed that as many as 67 students had topped the exam with a perfect score of 720.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had on Thursday ruled out cancellation of NEET, saying he cannot jeopardise careers of lakhs of students who cleared the exam rightfully because of "isolated incidents of malpractices".
The Centre on Saturday replaced National Testing Agency Director General Subodh Singh and set up a seven-member panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to review the agency's functioning and recommend exam reforms.
The government has also operationalised a stringent law that aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations. A maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for offenders are some of the tough measures under the law.
Amid an escalating row over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance (NEET)-Undergraduate exam 2024, the Health Ministry has decided to postpone the NEET-Post Graduate exams which were to be held today.
"Taking into consideration the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations, the Ministry of Health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of NEET-PG Entrance Examination, conducted by National Board of Examination for medical students," said the Ministry.
The Congress on Friday held protests across the country over alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam with Rahul Gandhi saying he will raise the issue in parliament and the opposition will put pressure on the government to ensure justice for students.
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