In a significant ruling, the Supreme Court on Friday clarified that the paper leak of the NEET-UG 2024 exam was not a widespread issue but was confined to specific locations, namely Patna and Hazaribagh. The court emphasised that while there was no systemic breach affecting the entire examination, the incident still raised serious concerns about the structural processes within the National Testing Agency (NTA), the body responsible for conducting the exam. The top court gave this clarification on why it did not cancel the examination.
In its judgment, the apex court pointed out various deficiencies in the existing processes of the NTA, highlighting the need for immediate improvements. "We cannot afford this for the betterment of the students...Issues which have arisen must be rectified by the Centre this year itself so that it is not repeated," the court said in its judgement. In its detailed reasons for the order which was pronounced on July 23, a bench of Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said the National Testing Agency (NTA) must stop its flip-flop which was noticed this year as it does not serve the interest of students.
Centre-appointed panel to review the NTA’s functioning
The bench issued a series of directives aimed at reforming the NTA's examination processes, following concerns raised during the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak case. The court has expanded the remit of the Centre-appointed panel, originally set up to review the NTA's functioning, and now led by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan. This panel, which will now have a broader mandate, has been tasked with thoroughly assessing the deficiencies in the current examination system and recommending necessary reforms. The court also set a deadline of September 30 for the committee to submit its report, which is expected to propose various measures to rectify the issues identified.
The bench also directed the Radhakrishnan panel to consider the adoption of technological advancements to enhance the security and reliability of the examination process. This includes the possibility of framing a standard operating procedure (SOP) that can be implemented to prevent future breaches and ensure the integrity of exams conducted by the NTA. The top court further emphasised the urgency of these reforms, instructing the Centre to ensure that the issues which arose during the NEET-UG examination are addressed promptly.
NEET-UG exam 2024
The NEET-UG is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. The Centre and the NTA had on June 13 told the top court that they had cancelled the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates who took the examination for admission to MBBS and other such courses. The examination was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres and around 24 lakh candidates appeared for it. The results were expected to be declared on June 14 but were announced on June 4, apparently because the evaluation of the answer sheets got completed earlier.
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