Dharmendra Pradhan and Congress President Kharge in Heated Exchange Over NEET UG Exam Allegations
The Supreme Court of India, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, ruled on July 23, 2024, that there would be no re-exam for NEET UG 2024
In a sharp rebuttal to allegations made by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has defended the integrity of the NEET UG exam process. Pradhan emphasized the Supreme Court's recent ruling, which found no systemic breaches in the 2024 NEET UG exam, and the High Court's review, which revealed no discrepancies in the data comparisons from 2022, 2023, and 2024.
Pradhan criticized the Congress party's distrust in the judicial system, questioning, "Congress does not trust the Government of India, but does it not trust the Honourable High Court?" He accused Kharge of ignoring previous paper leaks that occurred under Congress's administration in Rajasthan, stating, "Congress is the originator of paper leaks and corruption. What can be a bigger irony than calling the originator of corruption the police officer?"
He further alleged that Congress's repeated election defeats have led the party to resort to "lies, half-truths, and anarchy" to regain political ground. Pradhan asserted that the Modi government prioritizes zero-error examinations and has implemented measures to ensure tamper-proof exams. He refuted claims that postponing exams equates to paper leaks, urging Kharge to stop "tarnishing the image of India's examination system and playing with the future of students."
Kharge had previously accused the Modi government of mishandling the NEET UG 2024 exam, citing instances of paper leaks and other malpractices. He questioned the government's integrity and the involvement of an "education mafia" protected by RSS-BJP, alleging that the system had been compromised under their watch.
However, the Supreme Court of India, led by Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, ruled on July 23, 2024, that there would be no re-exam for NEET UG 2024. The court found no substantial evidence of systemic breaches and deemed a re-test unjustified, which would disrupt the admission schedule and disadvantage marginalized groups. The NTA had offered a special test for 1,563 candidates with specific grievances, allowing them to opt for a re-test or grace marks.
A seven-member expert committee has been formed to ensure the integrity of future NEET UG exams, reinforcing the government's commitment to maintaining a transparent and fair examination process. Candidates with specific issues can approach the High Courts under Article 226 after withdrawing their petitions from the Supreme Court.
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Q: What is the total number of NEET 2024 exam centres?
Q: What is the date of NEET 2024?
NTA announced the NEET 2024 exam date on September 19, 2023. NEET 2024 exam was conducted on May 5. The result of NEET 2024 was declared on June 4, 2024. After the result declaration, several irregularities and anomalies were found in the result and the scoring system. Hence, NTA is reconducting NEET 2024 on June 23, 2024, for 1,563 candidates who were awarded grace marks. The result will be declared on June 30, 2024. The NEET 2024 counselling process for the 15 per cent All India Quota (AIQ) seats is likely to be conducted from July 6, 2024 onwards.
The NEET 2024 application process was conducted from February 9, 2024, to March 16, 2024. The last date of application was extended from March 9, by a week. The application and correction windows were reopened in April. While the NEET exam dates were scheduled in September and July a couple of years ago owing to the pandemic situation, it took a toll on the medical admission schedule. To bridge this gap, NTA conducted NEET in May last year. The trend is being continued for NEET 2024 as well.
Q: When was NEET 2024 conducted?
NEET 2024 was conducted on May 5, 2024, from 2 PM to 5.20 PM (IST). NTA conducted the exam in 571 cities across India and abroad. Around 20 lakh candidates appeared for the exam. The difficulty level of the exam was moderate to tough. NEET is a paper-pencil based test (PBT) consisting of a total of 200 multiple-choice questions (MCQs). Out of this, candidates had to attempt 180 questions. The total marks of the exam is 720.
Q: What is the timing of the NEET examination?
The duration of NEET exam is three hours and 20 minutes. The exam will commence at 2 PM and conclude at 5.20 PM as per the Indian Standard Time (IST). The timing for the international centres varied as per the local timings. NEET is a continuous test with no breaks allowed in between. Candidates needed to report to the exam centre at least one hour prior to the exam timing. Moreover, candidates were not be allowed to leave the exam hall before the stipulated duration as well.
Q: Will NEET 2024 be delayed?
NEET 2024 was conducted on May 5, 2024. NTA announced the exam date on September 19, approximately eight months in advance. NTA has decided the exam date after much deliberation and assessing situations such as Board exam schedule, other exams, etc. Over the past few years, NEET exam date was delayed owing to the pandemic situation, which affected the overall academic calendar. To bring back normalcy, NTA conducted NEET UG 2024 in May, similar to the pre-pandemic era after much brainstorming and assessing other entrance exam dates. Howrver, NEET 2024 will be reconducted on June 23, 2024, for 1,563 candidates who were given grace marks. The Supreme Court of India has asked NTA not to delay the admission process. Hence, NTA will release the result of the retest on June 30, 2024, and the counselling process will begin in July 2024.
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Abhay an alumnus of IIMC and Delhi University, has over a decade long experience of reporting on various beats of journalism. During his free time he prefers listening to music or play indoor and outdoor games.
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The exact numbers of NEET 2024 exam centres was 4,750, for the original exam date of May 5, 2024. The NEET 2024 re-exam was conducted in seven exam centres located in five states across India. It is expected that the total number of the NEET exam centres in 2024 will be above 5,000. Last year, the total number of exam cities was 4,097. The number of exam cities in India has also increased this year.