Government Fights to Keep NEET UG 2024 Exam Results, Says No Proof of Widespread Cheating

New Delhi: The Indian government is pushing back against calls to throw out the results of the NEET UG 2024 medical entrance exam. In a statement to the Supreme Court on Friday, the government argued that there’s no evidence of widespread cheating that would justify scrapping the entire exam, which took place on May 5th.

They emphasized that canceling the exam would unfairly harm the vast majority of students who took the test honestly. “Invalidating the exam would severely hurt the chances of hundreds of thousands of honest test-takers,” the government stated.

The government’s statement highlighted their dedication to fair and transparent exams. They acknowledged the critical importance of keeping exam questions secret and promised to severely punish anyone found guilty of breaking that confidentiality.

“We understand that keeping exam questions confidential is absolutely crucial,” the statement read. “If someone tries to cheat or break that confidentiality, we will make sure they face the full force of the law.”

However, the government also stressed the need to be fair to all students. They argued that canceling the entire exam would be unfair to the many students who worked hard and did nothing wrong.

The government revealed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently investigating all allegations of wrongdoing related to the exam. This includes looking into potential cheating, impersonation, and breaches of trust.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear several petitions on July 8th. These petitions include claims of irregularities during the May 5th exam and demands for a retest.

This follows a previous development on June 13th, where the government and the National Testing Agency (NTA) informed the court that they had revoked extra marks (grace marks) initially awarded to 1,563 students. These students were given the option to retake the exam or keep their original scores without the extra marks.

After a retake exam on June 23rd, the NTA released updated results on July 1st. These results showed an unprecedented 67 students achieving a perfect score of 720, with six of them coming from a single testing center in Haryana. This raised suspicions about potential cheating, with some alleging that the initial awarding of extra marks contributed to these high scores.

These allegations have sparked protests in several cities and fueled political clashes between opposing parties.