Students should not panic, Dharmendra Pradhan appealed
The controversy around the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET, fueled by allegations of paper leak triggered huge protests across the country, with many questioning the credibility and the transparency of the process.
The NEET, is an entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency, or NTA, for admission to the undergraduate medical programme.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, in an attempt to allay the concerns of aspirants and parents, asserted that they "should not panic".
"There's no evidence of any paper leak yet. There are allegations and competent authorities are looking into them.
"Certain allegations and loose information are coming in. Let us wait for the probe by the authorities concerned. Let's wait till July 8 for the Supreme Court's judgment. There's nothing to hide..." he said.
Highlighting the massive scale on which the exams are conducted - over 23 lakh aspirants took the exam at over 4,700 centres in India and 14 overseas in 13 languages, Mr Pradhan stressed, "Certain allegations were made at two centres. Those involved in the misdeed will be severely punished."
Students should not panic, he appealed.
"Some anomalies have come before us. We are aware of the issue. The Supreme Court has also given a judgment yesterday. There should not be any confusion after that," he told NDTV.
All the 1,563 affected students will get the opportunity to reappear for the exams, he said, adding, "Those who are interested can opt for the re-test in the six specific centres, where the allegation was that students didn't get enough time to write their paper."
But why did the National Testing Agency, or the NTA, which conducts the exam, not act until the Supreme Court intervened? "That is not true. After the anomaly came to light, the NTA came up with a formula - the grace mark formula. It was cited by the Supreme Court as well. However, some anomalies were found in that formula because six students became the highest scorers on the list. That was an eyesore for many students.
There were protests against the decision, the Centre intervened, and a committee was formed, he said, adding that the panel recommended re-testing the six centres for the affected students.
The minister met a delegation of students and parents earlier today. "I heard them and assured them. I told them to have faith in the government... There is no lack of intention. When you organise such a huge entrance test, don't judge us by anomalies in two or three centres," he said.
Will the entrance test be scrapped? "What is the necessity for scrapping NEET? The Opposition has a vested interest. Last year's NEET topper was from the Tamil Nadu state board. The student was from rural Tamil Nadu. So what are the allegations?" the minister said.
The results of the examination held on May 5 were expected to be declared on June 14. However, they were out on June 4, reportedly because the evaluation of the answer sheets was done.
The results showed that 1,563 candidates were given grace marks for a wrong question, prompting the government to intervene and cancel their mark sheets.
The Centre intervened following allegations of massive irregularities in the entrance exams, allegations of wrong question papers being distributed, Optical Mark Recognition, OMR, sheets being torn, or delays in the distribution of the sheets.
If any of the 1,563 candidates choose to not take the re-test, their earlier score will be reinstated without the grace marks.