NEET-UG 2024 result: In a year marred by controversy, more than 11,000 candidates have scored zero or negative marks in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam, according to the National Testing Agency's (NTA) centre-wise results. The lowest score recorded was -180, by a candidate at a center in Bihar. An analysis of the NTA's city- and centre-wise results, released on Saturday, reveals that over 2,250 candidates scored zero marks, while more than 9,400 candidates received negative scores. In Jharkhand's Hazaribagh, a center under scrutiny, several candidates scored less than zero. While there are multiple candidates from a few centres who have scored zero marks, no clusters are seen as the number of such candidates from each centre is not very high.
According to officials, zero marks in the exam doesn't necessarily mean the answer sheets were blank or no questions were attempted. "It is possible that the candidate attempted some questions right and some questions wrong which led to negative marking. In the NEET-UG, for every correct answer, four marks are awarded and for every incorrect answer, one mark is deducted. No marks are awarded or deducted for questions that are not attempted.
NTA announces city, centre wise results
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday (July 20) published city- and centre-wise results of the NEET-UG medical entrance exam, which is currently under scrutiny for alleged irregularities, including a paper leak. Data analysis revealed that candidates who purportedly benefitted from these irregularities did not perform well. However, certain centres displayed a high concentration of top-performing students, with more than 2,000 candidates from Sikar centres scoring above 650 marks and over 4,000 scoring above 600 marks.
The comprehensive result data, encompassing over 23 lakh candidates from 4,750 centres, was not released in a cumulative format but was made available through a drop-down menu for each centre. This action followed the Supreme Court's directive, which is reviewing multiple petitions concerning the alleged irregularities as millions of aspirants await a final decision on the exam's validity.
NEET-UG matter in Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is hearing several petitions about the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the test on May 5 at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad. The top court had ordered that the results be announced while masking the identities of aspirants. It had said it wanted to ascertain whether candidates appearing at allegedly tainted centres secured more marks than those writing the exam elsewhere. The court will resume hearing the arguments in the matter on July 22 on a batch of pleas seeking cancellation, re-test and a court-monitored probe into the allegations of malpractice in the prestigious exam.
(With inputs from PTI)
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