Members of the Indian Youth Congress during their protest at Jantar Mantar over the alleged rigging of the NEET-UG exam, in New Delhi on June 27.
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

The story so far: The NEET-UG exam has been embroiled in controversies over the award of grace marks, allegation of paper leaks and other irregularities. The government also cancelled the UGC-NET exam after it was held, while the CSIR-NET and NEET-PG exams have been postponed.

Also Read: The NEET sheeters

What is the historical background?

The Government of India Act, 1935 during the British rule created a federal structure for the first time in our polity. The legislative subjects were distributed between the federal legislature (present day Union) and provinces (present day States). Education which is an important public good was kept under the provincial list. After independence, this continued and education was part of the ‘State list’ under the distribution of powers.

However, during the Emergency, the Congress party constituted the Swaran Singh Committee to provide recommendations for amendments to the Constitution. One of the recommendations of this committee was to place ‘education’ in the concurrent list in order to evolve all-India policies on the subject. This was implemented through the 42nd constitutional amendment (1976) by shifting ‘education’ from the State list to the concurrent list. There was no detailed rationale that was provided for this switch and the amendment was ratified by various States without adequate debate.

The Janata Party government led by Morarji Desai that came to power after Emergency passed the 44th constitutional amendment (1978) to reverse many of the controversial changes made through the 42nd amendment. One of these amendments that was passed in the Lok Sabha but not in the Rajya Sabha was to bring back ‘education’ to the State list.

What are international practices?

In the U.S., State and local governments set the overall educational standards, mandate standardised tests and supervise colleges and universities. The federal education department’s functions primarily include policies for financial aid, focussing on key educational issues and ensuring equal access. In Canada, education is completely managed by the provinces. In Germany, the constitution vests legislative powers for education with landers (equivalent of States). In South Africa, on the other hand, education is governed by two national departments for school and higher education. The provinces of the country have their own education departments for implementing policies of the national departments and dealing with local issues.

What can be the way forward?

The arguments in favour of ‘education’ in the concurrent list include a uniform education policy, improvement in standards and synergy between Centre and States. However, considering the vast diversity of the country, a ‘one size fits all’ approach is neither feasible nor desirable. Further, as per the report on ‘Analysis of Budgeted expenditure on Education’ prepared by the Ministry of Education in 2022, out of the total revenue expenditure by education departments in our country estimated at ₹6.25 lakh crore (2020-21), 15% is spent by the Centre while 85% is spent by the States. Even if expenditure by all other departments on education and training are considered, the share works out to 24% and 76% respectively.

The arguments against restoring ‘education’ to State list include corruption coupled with lack of professionalism. The recent issues surrounding the NEET and NTA have however displayed that centralisation does not necessarily mean that these issues would vanish.

Also Read: Why has the NTA failed to deliver? | Explained

Considering the need for autonomy in view of the lion’s share of the expenditure being borne by the States, there needs to be a productive discussion towards moving ‘education’ back to the State list. This would enable them to frame tailor-made policies for syllabus, testing and admissions for higher education including professional courses like medicine and engineering. Regulatory mechanisms for higher education can continue to be governed by central institutions like the National Medical Commission, University Grants Commission and All India Council for Technical Education.

Rangarajan. R is a former IAS officer and author of ‘Polity Simplified’. Views expressed are personal.

New Delhi:

The Opposition today demanded to discuss in the Lok Sabha the alleged leak of the medical exam NEET-UG and other sought-after, competitive tests. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has said it is ready to answer any question on the exam controversies.

When the house business began this morning, Congress MP KC Venugopal submitted an adjournment motion in Lok Sabha to discuss unprecedented cases of paper leaks including NEET-UG and UGC-NET. The Opposition wants to point out “failures” of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts over a dozen competitive national exams.

“I have received 22 notices on the NEET paper leak case. The President has already indicated in her speech in paragraph 20 that there would be a fair investigation in the irregularities in NEET,” Speaker Om Birla said, and adjourned the house till 12 pm.

When the session resumed, the Speaker adjourned the session till Monday.

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi said leaders should send a message from parliament that all the parties are concerned about students of the nation, who are worried about their future.

“We should discuss the issue calmly. Both Opposition and ruling alliance should send a common message to students from parliament,” Mr Gandhi said.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh, too, asked to discuss the NEET issue in Rajya Sabha.

Congress MP Syed Naseer Hussain gave a ‘suspension of business notice’, which said the house should stop all activity and discuss only the NEET-UG and UGC-NET row today.

The Chief Ministers of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have called for scrapping the NEET.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on June 23 filed a criminal case over the alleged irregularities in the conduct of NEET-UG by the NTA and formed special teams to probe the matter.

The NEET-UG was held on May 5; over 23 lakh candidates appeared. An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which led to widespread protests in the country.

New Delhi:

The Supreme Court today issued a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA) following a petition filed by a learning app alleging exam rigging in the recently conducted NEET-UG exams. The court has directed the NTA to respond to the notice by July 8, when the hearing on the matter will take place.

The petition raises serious concerns about the integrity of the NEET-UG examination held on May 5. The results for this exam, announced on June 4, have been mired in controversy with allegations of irregularities and malpractice. The petitioners claim that over 1,500 students were awarded grace marks, which has significantly impacted the overall rankings and fairness of the exam.

In addition to the Supreme Court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also been tasked with probing several cases related to the alleged paper leak and exam rigging. The CBI’s investigation spans multiple states and has already led to the questioning of individuals and several arrests connected to the case.

The petitioners, represented by the coaching centre and other students, argued for students’ right to access their Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets. 

However, Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice SVN Bhatti, presiding over the case, questioned the fundamental rights allegedly violated by the NTA’s actions.

Addressing a joint sitting of Parliament earlier today, President Droupadi Murmu said that the government is committed to probing the allegations concerning exam paper leaks. 

“If due to any reason, there is an obstruction in examinations it is not appropriate. Sanctity and transparency are a must in government recruitments and examinations,” she said. “The government is committed to conducting a fair investigation and ensuring the most stringent punishment to those guilty in the recent incidents of paper leak.”

The first red flag that indicated the medical exam NEET-UG could have been compromised came when it became known that over 1,500 students were given grace marks.

But why was this so?

Sources in the Education Ministry said grace marks have never been the norm for “loss of exam time”. To compensate for time constraints, the format recommended increasing time, but never to allow grace marks which were given subjectively.

The eventual retest for over 1,500 students who were given grace marks in NEET-UG; the cancellation of the UGC-NET for teaching posts in higher education, and the postponement of the NEET-PG just a day before it was to be held – all these point at gaps in how the National Testing Agency (NTA) worked, sources have said.

The NEET-PG is administered by the National Board of Examinations under the Health Ministry.

Education ministry sources said the government is looking to implement every critical reform in the NTA before the next cycle of exams begin in 2025. They said the NTA will also see whether NEET can be held multiple times or just once a year, apart from chalking out best practices.

The Centre replaced the NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh with retired Indian Administration Service (IAS) officer Pradeep Singh Kharola, a move which sources said sought to save the NTA’s credibility.

Sources said students’ confidence in the NTA had diminished following the controversies.

“The NTA failed to assure candidates. There has been no provision to give grace marks. This is the first time grace marks have been given to candidates. As per the rules, the candidates should have been given extra time if there was some time loss. And then the grace marking was done through the odd method,” an Education Ministry source said.

The NTA had awarded grace marks to 1,564 candidates due to loss of exam time. It said it followed the same normalisation formula that had been approved by the Supreme Court in the CLAT in 2018, when a similar situation arose. The NTA later withdrew these grace marks.

The retest was held today for 1,563 students, out of which 813 or 52 per cent students turned up.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has filed a new case and taken over the investigation.

New Delhi:

Forty-eight per cent of students who were scheduled to retake the NEET-UG today did not turn up, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said in a statement. After a Supreme Court order, 1,563 students who were given grace marks were eligible to take the retest today, the NTA said.

Of the total, 813 (52 per cent) gave the retest and 750 skipped, shows data released by the NTA this evening. The NTA had opened seven exam centres in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Meghalaya, and Chandigarh, a Union Territory.

#JustIn | NEET-UG 2024 retest: Only 52% (813 out of 1563) students turned up for the retest today. pic.twitter.com/JZzsxmDh8c

— NDTV (@ndtv) June 23, 2024

Below is the list of how many students gave the retest, how many skipped, and the locations.

Chandigarh: 2 eligible, both absent.

Chhattisgarh: 602 eligible, 311 absent, 291 took retest.

Gujarat: 1 eligible, and the student turned up.

Haryana: 494 eligible, 207 absent, 287 took retest.

Meghalaya: 464 eligible, 230 absent, 234 took retest.

The retest was held on a day the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a first information report (FIR) in connection with alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET-UG held on May 5. The CBI filed the case following a complaint from the Education Ministry amid protests and litigation by students for a probe into paper leak claims.

Officials said the ministry alleged in the complaint, now part of the FIR, that “certain isolated incidents” happened in a few states during the conduct of the examination. Giving top priority to the case, the CBI has formed special teams that are on their way to Godhra and Patna, where cases of question paper leaks have been filed by the police.

The CBI will take over the investigation of the cases filed by the police in Gujarat and Bihar.

Sixty-three candidates were debarred from all over the country over malpractices during the NEET-UG, the NTA said. They include 17 from Bihar, and 30 from Godhra.

The role of officials, if any, connected with the conduct of the examination and also into the entire gamut of events, and the larger conspiracy will also be under the scanner, officials said.

In a separate matter, the Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre, the NTA and others on various petitions, including those seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam and a court-monitored investigation.

The Supreme Court also halted proceedings on similar petitions in various high courts.

Chandigarh:

Invigilators were waiting, police personnel were on the spot and metal scanners were in place, but the two students who were to take the NEET-UG retest at an exam centre in Chandigarh did not turn up.

St Joseph’s Senior Secondary School in Sector 44 of Chandigarh is among the seven centres selected by the National Testing Agency for the re-examination of 1,563 candidates.

These candidates, the Centre had told the Supreme Court, had been awarded grace marks to compensate for the loss of time and revision of answers in the exam held on May 5. The grace marks were cancelled amid the massive row surrounding the exam, but the candidates were provided an opportunity to take the test again.

NDTV visited the Chandigarh centre this morning and found police personnel and teachers waiting for the two examinees. Two security personnel were at the gate with metal scanners. “The examination starts at 2 pm and the gate will be shut the gate at 1.30 pm. We are waiting for the students and all preparations have been made,” said one of the invigilators. When the students did not turn up, the gate of the exam centre was shut as per rules.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test is an all Indian examination for admission to medical courses in colleges across the country. The exam, taken by 24 lakh students on May 5, came under the scanner after the results were declared on June 4. A total of 67 students scored 720/720 marks and the cut-off was pushed so high that many students wondered if they would get a college berth.

Allegations of irregularities have sparked nationwide protests by students. Several people have been arrested in Bihar in a paper leak case. A student among them has told police he got the questions the night before the exam.

The government, which had initially denied any paper leak, has now handed over the investigation to the CBI. The director general of the National Testing Agency, which conducted the test, has been fired. The Opposition has launched a scathing attack against the government, saying the mismanagement surrounding the exam has pushed the future of lakhs of students towards uncertainty.

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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