NEET is a court-ordered examination, supposedly aimed at meritocracy. However, over the past years when the incumbent Narendra Modi government at the Centre began implementing it, it took on political and casteist colours, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
There have been allegations of inflation of marks in NEET-UG which has led to a record 67 candidates sharing top rank with perfect score.
rediffGURU Dr Nagaraj JSK guides aspirants on how to pick the right course and college for your career.
This is the thirteenth case of suspected suicide by a coaching student in Kota since January.
A 20-year-old NEET aspirant from West Bengal was found hanging in his rented accommodation in Kota but no suicide note has been recovered from his room, the police said on Tuesday.
The top court said since the remit of the panel has been expanded, the committee would submit its report by September 30 on various measures to rectify deficiencies in the examination system.
The Supreme Court will hear on Monday a batch of pleas related to the controversy-ridden medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024, including those alleging irregularities and malpractices in the May 5 test and seeking a direction to conduct it afresh.
At least 52 percent -- 813 out of 1,563 candidates -- appeared for the retest on Sunday, said NTA.
rediffGURU Dr Nagarajan JSK counsels students and parents towards making the right career choices, particularly in the field of pharmacy.
The NTA denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres were some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks.
'They made so many toppers in NEET that automatically the paper leak issue got exposed.' 'The first mistake they did was announcing 67 toppers in NEET. No way this figure was possible.' 'The maximum numbers of toppers that you can have are two or three at best every year.'
'Aspiring doctors have put in years of their lives to study in preparation for NEET exams as they start studies from Class 9 to get good marks.' 'And today, after the NEET paper leak, these students even after getting good marks are unable to get admission in any good medical college (because of inflated merit marks due to the paper leak).' 'They are thinking, was it worthwhile to study so hard for the examinations to become a doctor?'
'The NEET-PG is the only exam for admission to MD, MS and PG Diploma courses.' 'Many doctors take time off from work to prepare for it, while others study during their long hospital shifts.'
Asserting the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) wants a constructive debate on the NEET issue, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it is unfortunate that they were not allowed to raise it in the Parliament.
Yadvendu claimed that he demanded Rs 40 lakh from each aspirant, including his nephew Anurag Yadav, for providing the leaked question paper on May 4, a day before the exam.
Hours before he was to appear for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for a third time, a 19-year old youth belonging to a village near Salem died by suicide on Sunday, fearing the outcome of the test he was to take.
Sanjeev Kumar alias Sanjeev 'Mukhiya', an alleged kingpin behind the NEET paper leak, was not only minting money but wanted to become an MP or MLA.
The statement implicated members of the Mukhiya gang, accused of orchestrating multiple interstate paper leaks, as the source of the leaked answer sheet.
No National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) candidate has scored above 682 in the revised results for a centre in Haryana that was under the scanner after six aspirants who took the medical entrance exam there on May 5 got 720 out of 720.
The Supreme Court of India has reprimanded the Rajasthan government over the alarming rise in student suicides in Kota. The court expressed its deep concern over the situation, questioning the state's efforts to address the crisis. The court also ordered an FIR to be filed in the case of a 22-year-old IIT Kharagpur student who died by suicide in his hostel room, citing a delay in reporting the incident to the police.
The National Testing Agency, however, denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres are some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks.
In a fourth case of suspected suicide by a NEET aspirant this month, a 16-year-old student was found hanging in his hostel room in the Kunhari area of Kota, the police said on Thursday.
An analysis of data indicated that while the candidates who allegedly benefitted from the paper leak and other irregularities have not done well, some centres have a high concentration of well-performing students.
A three-member committee set up by the National Testing Agency (NTA) to look into the alleged incident of an NEET aspirant in Kerala asked to remove her bra before the exam, will submit its report in four weeks, according to officials.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the National Testing Agency (NTA) to declare by 12 noon of July 20 the centre and city-wise results of NEET-UG 2024 while masking the identities of aspirants.
The agency seized documents like answer sheets, OMR codes, hand-written notes related to IDs and names of candidates apart from their education certificates, the sources said.
The agency is under criticism amid allegations of irregularities and inflation of marks in the crucial medical entrance exam.
Gandhi said Modi's top priority now is to get his Speaker in Parliament and is not bothered about NEET .
The top court dismissed a plea seeking deferment of the NEET-PG which claimed that candidates have been allocated cities that are highly inconvenient for them to reach.
The top court, however, refused to stay the counselling of successful candidates for admissions to Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Dental Surgery and other courses.
"The re-revised score cards are live now," a senior NTA official said.
Beyond a point, competition is boring. The fun is in the doing, irrespective of outcome. By the time I was in college, I knew I valued awareness more than success, notes Shyam G Menon.
The Union Public Service Commission entrance and Common Admission Test are completely different from each other and require different approaches, says rediffGURU Mayank Chandel.
While MBBS continues to be the most sought-after stream for medical aspirants, post pandemic, the demand for skilled nurses and physiotherapists are on the rise, notes Nayagam PP, career counsellor and founder of EduJob360.
'Coming up with a uniform formula is important at least for central government-conducted examinations.'
The Bihar Police's Economic Offences Unit, which is probing the alleged National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET-UG) paper leak case, on Saturday claimed to have obtained reference question papers of the test conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) and planned to compare these with documents recovered from a flat in Patna during a search operation last month.
The Supreme Court on Thursday sought responses from the Centre, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and others on petitions seeking the cancellation of National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate)-2024 (NEET-UG 2024), and a court-monitored probe into the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam.
They said the agency is also taking steps to bring under its ambit cases registered in various states by the police.
The top court took note of the submissions of some aspirants that a question related to an "atom" and its characteristics had two correct answers and a set of examinees, who gave one particular answer out of the two correct ones, were awarded four marks.
This roadmap will benefit nearly 13 lakh students who have registered for the medical entrance exam this year.
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