The Supreme Court of India has committed to hearing complaints about unfair practices and other inappropriate procedures in the medical entrance exam, with a focus on NEET-UG 2024. Every time there are claims of integrity violations in examinations and concerns raised by a number of petitioners, the court has intervened in a noteworthy way.
The matter was originally scheduled to be heard on July 15th but was postponed due to a personal emergency, as stated by the ASG and supported by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta. Further tries on July 16th were also postponed, and the schedules for July 17th fell on a holiday in the Philippines, so they had to be completed on July 18. The Hon’ble Chief Justice of India, DY Chandrachud, who presided over the bench, has insisted on a detailed affidavit from both the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Union of India.
The Supreme Court has decided to delay the hearing of NEET-UG 2024 case by next Thursday, July 18.
Seriously, What a mockery of the system. It needs to solve asap.
Are they hiding or covering up something why they have to move it so much long?🤔#NEETUG2024Exams #NEETUGUPDATE pic.twitter.com/rZQJwtD3xF
— RE NEET 2024 (@postpone_neetug) July 11, 2024
In the same light, the Supreme Court stated on July 8 that it had severe doubts with regards to the honour of the NEET-UG 2024, which it claimed had a tendency to leak the question papers. Still to the above worries, the court understood the defeat of canceling the exam outrightly, given the devastation it will cause to more than 23 lakh students, the top court said.
Pursuant to the orders of the court, the Ministry of Education filed an affidavit on July 10, the contents of which included disclosure of the fact that IIT Madras had been entrusted with the process of scrutinizing large amounts of data pertaining to the exam as directed by the court. Thus, the affidavit claimed that there was no significant proof of systemic fraud or particular groups that were receiving undue advantage as a result of the higher scores.
Furthermore, the NTA, in its rejoinder the following night, submitted an affidavit denying claims that 67 candidates got full marks through examination malpractice, as alleged certain cross sections of the public. They gave specific information regarding the split of marks based on the national and state-wise divisions in which the examination was held, city/region division and the center division.
The Health Minister also came into the picture on the 18th of July while appraising the court about investigations regarding the said anomalies and malpractices concerning NEET-UG 2024. The court put the subsequent hearings in abeyance at the instance of the petitioners to enable them to digest the counter affidavits filed by the Center as well as the NTA.
Prospects for the upcoming periods were also unveiled before the court: counseling for NEET-UG 2024 will take place in four stages starting in the third week of July. This 44-page affidavit amplified by the Center also said that if any student was found to have availed the benefit of malpractice, he or she would be struck off at any stage of counseling process.
Focusing on the NEET-UG examination that is conducted by the NTA, it is the common entrance test for admission into the MBBS/BDS, AYUSH, and other medical and dental courses in government/ private colleges in India. The court’s participation increases its guard over the safety of assessments in education while respecting the rights of the learners involved in such proceedings.
Therefore, the legal case of NEET-UG 2024 raises important issues concerning the dubious practice in the conduct of national-level entrance tests and requires a thorough probe and judicial intervention to check the bias and malpractice and preserve the ethos of the education system in India.
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