Scrapping NEET not rational, honest students will suffer, Centre tells Supreme Court; NTA also opposes cancellation

The Centre on Friday filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam since the results have already been declared. They also said that a panel has been set up to provide recommendations for the smooth conduct of the exams.

The government argued that “in the absence of evidence of a large-scale breach of confidentiality in a pan-India examination, it would not be rational to quash the examination in its entirety and the results already announced.”

The government also mentioned that the Ministry of Education has formed a high-level expert committee after the current examination to suggest effective measures to organize transparent, smooth and fair examinations by the National Testing Agency.

What will the committee do?

According to the government, the committee will make recommendations on reforms to the examination process mechanism, improvement of data security protocols and the structure and functioning of the National Testing Agency.

The said committee is headed by Dr K Radhakrishnan, former chairman,

ISRO and IIT Kanpur Governing Council Chairman to submit report in two months.

NTA also files affidavit against cancellation of NEET-UG exam

After Centre, another affidavit was filed by the Nation Testing Agency, which conducts the NEET-UG exam, in response to one of the petitions filed before the Supreme Court.

She said the alleged incident/escape attempt does not seem to have any impact on the conduct of the entire examination held on May 5 as the number of candidates implicated by the investigating agencies is minuscule compared to the several candidates who appeared.

“Canceling the exam in its entirety would seriously jeopardize the hundreds of thousands of honest candidates who attempted the exam in 2024,” the affidavit states.

The agency said the NEET-UG 2024 exam was conducted fairly and confidentially without any illegal practices and the allegation of “massive malpractice” is “totally baseless, misleading and devoid of any merit”.

The NTA also added that the alleged malpractices were reported only from Patna and Godhra centres and the entire examination should not be cancelled on the basis of individual cases.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a series of petitions on July 8, including those alleging irregularities in the May 5 review and seeking a direction that it be conducted again.

Allegations of irregularities, including leaked documents, have led to protests in several cities and clashes between rival political parties.