Mumbai: Amid uproar over granting compensatory marks to over 1,563 candidates who appeared for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) over loss of time in taking exams, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has constituted a high-powered committee to review its decision and decide whether to conduct a re-exam.
Addressing a press conference on Saturday, NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh said that the four-member panel is headed by a former Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) chairperson and experts from academia and the healthcare sector. The committee will meet frequently and will make its recommendation within a week. However, he declined to divulge the names of the committee members.
Discontent Among Candidates
The NEET results, which were released on Tuesday, have sparked widespread discontent among candidates across the country. The declaration of results before the schedule, claims of paper leak and the relatively large number of high-scorers have led to accusations of malpractices in one of the largest national entrance exams, which was taken by more than 23 lakh students.
Singh further said that the aspirants lost exam time at six out of 4,750 examination centres. He asserted that while score revision led to an average increase of 28 marks for the affected candidates, it didn't impact the overall result. He also clarified that there won't be any provision now to file fresh complaints about the shortage of time.
The NTA, on Thursday, had said that as suggested by the grievance redressal committee, additional marks were calculated based on a formula mentioned in the 2018 Supreme Court order related to the Common Law Admission Test (CLAT).
Reiterating the stand, Singh said, To allay the fears again, the NTA has decided that a high-powered committee will analyse the recommendations of the grievance redressal committee. It will ensure that the grievances of the 1,600 students [who complained of time loss] are resolved and the apprehension of all 23 lakh aspirants about a large number of high scorers are also addressed, he added.
When asked why the NTA relied on the 2018 SC order when it pertained to an online exam, while the NEET was conducted offline, Singh said, Since [the CLAT case] was about the same concept of compensating the loss of time, the same criteria was followed.
Singh On Compensatory Marks
Providing additional details about the compensatory marks, Singh said that of 1,563 aspirants who got their scores revised only a half (790) managed to clear the cutoff criteria. This success rate is less than around 56% of overall qualifying candidates. While there was a significant increase in average marks from 164 to 192 for affected students, they still scored less than the overall average of 217. He, however, didn't provide the exact range of the quantum of grace marks.
With regards to the concern of students from a single exam centre scoring high, Singh pointed out that the centre recorded an average score of 235; higher than the national average. The compensation didn't have any impact on qualifying criteria, he asserted.
