Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): Hundreds of workers of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)-- a student wing of the RSS, took to the streets in Jabalpur to protest the alleged irregularities in the NEET UG 2024 results.
The students gathered at the city's Ghanta Ghar on Monday and raised slogans against the National Testing Agency (NTA)-- the body responsible for conducting national-level exams like NEET, over 'irregularities' in the results declared on June 4, 2024.
What is the controversy?
The suspicions sparked against the NEET results after as many as 67 students were declared toppers, scoring full 720 marks. These include at least eight students from the same exam centre.
Also, some students got 718 and 719 marks, which is impossible as per the marking scheme of the NEET exam. However, the NTA has clarified that scores like 718 or 719 are the result of the grace marks given to some students due to loss of time following the writ petitions filed by the candidates in the High Courts of Punjab and Haryana, Delhi, and Chhattisgarh.
Though it seems the students have completely rebuffed the clarification by the NTA as the protests continue to gain momentum across the nation,.
Concerns of protestors
One of the protesters, Anchal Mishra, who is a National Eligibility Test (NET) aspirant, raised her concerns regarding the credibility of NTA. She argued, “NTA is the largest body for higher education which conducts various exams like NEET, JEE, NET, etc. In a situation, where NTA holds the entire education system in the country, how will we safeguard our future if NEET itself is surrounded by controversy.”
Anchal Mishra |
“If NEET papers can be leaked, there is ample of scope of cheating at college, university and even state-level exams,” she said.
Demands of protesters
ABVP Jabalpur, Rohit Pandey |
The protestors in Jabalpur seem concerned regarding the centralisation of entire power on one body, corruption and also the possible influence of high and mighty on the nation’s education system.
Hence, one of the workers of ABVP Jabalpur Rohit Pandey raised a demand for a CBI investigation before the commencement of counselling process by Medical Council of India (MCI).
