Amid the growing uproar over alleged irregularities in the recently held National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) exam, the Maharashtra government has also expressed concern over the nature of exam.
Speaking on the issue, Maharashtra Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif on Friday cited that the results have caused injustice to students from the state. He said, "The NEET exams were probably conducted after taking money. The results are such that no student from Maharashtra will get admission for the MBBS course in government or private colleges in the state."
Significantly, the Maharashtra Medical Education Minister's remarks come amid concerns from several NEET-UG aspirants about inflated marks, which led to an unprecedented 67 candidates achieving the top rank, including six from the same examination center in Haryana.
While the National Testing Agency, which is in charge of conducting the examination, has denied any wrongdoing and attributed the higher scores to changes in NCERT textbooks and the awarding of grace marks for lost examination time, many students and parents have expressed dissatisfaction.
Speaking to the media further about the state government's decision in handling the case, the Maharashtra Minister highlighted that the government was even contemplating approaching the court over the issue. He said parents of many students have approached him seeking to address the issue.
"This (the results) has caused injustice to Maharashtra and it must be immediately cancelled. We are going to tell NMC (National Medical Commission) about it," he added.
It is pertinent to note that the NEET UG exam was conducted on May 5, 2024, across 4,750 centers in 571 cities, including 14 abroad, for over 24 lakh candidates, and the results were announced on June 4.
Opposition targeted the government over the issue
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra earlier called for the solving of students' "legitimate complaints" through an investigation. She said, "First the NEET exam paper was leaked and now the students allege that there has been a scam in its results as well. Serious questions are being raised on six students of the same center getting 720 out of 720 marks, and many kinds of irregularities are coming to the fore."
"There are reports of many children committing suicide across the country after the results were announced. Why is the government ignoring the voice of lakhs of students? Students want answers to legitimate questions related to the rigging in the NEET exam results," she added.
Further, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin, speaking about the alleged irregularities in the exam, said, "Issues such as question paper leaks, clustering of toppers at specific centers, and the awarding of marks — which are mathematically impossible — under the guise of grace marks highlight the pitfalls of the current union government's centralisation. These events emphasise the need to restore the pre-eminence of state governments' and school education systems' role in determining criteria for professional course selection."
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