GUWAHATI: Out of 1,563 candidates eligible to appear for the re-exam of the NEET-UG 2024, only 813 candidates, approximately 52%, took the test, on June 23. The remaining 750 candidates, which roughly comes to 48%, were absent.
The re-exam, spanning three-and-a-half hours, was conducted across seven centres located in Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Meghalaya, and Chandigarh.
ALSO READ: Guwahati: Man Apprehended For Allegedly Attempting To Rape Minor In Fatasil Ambari
The Supreme Court had granted these candidates a chance to reappear for the NEET-UG after their previously awarded grace marks were withdrawn. Earlier this month, at least 67 candidates had achieved perfect scores of 720/720 due to non-transparent grace marks allotted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Chhattisgarh had the highest number of candidates eligible for the re-test. From Swami Atmanand Utkrist Hindi Medium Government Girls High School in Dantewada, 176 out of 417 candidates appeared for the re-test. Similarly, at the DAV Ispat Senior Secondary Public School in Balod, 115 out of 185 eligible candidates took the exam, as per reports.
In Haryana, the DAV Police Public School in Jhajjar saw 178 out of 312 eligible candidates appear for the re-test, while 109 out of 182 candidates from the Kendriya Vidyalaya in Jhajjar took the exam.
Meghalaya’s Don Bosco College in Tura had 464 eligible candidates, with 234 appearing for the re-exam. In Gujarat, only one candidate appeared at the Mount Litera Zee School in Surat. In Chandigarh, both of the two eligible candidates were absent.
Per the Supreme Court's directive, the original scores minus the grace marks will be considered for students who skipped the exam. For those who appeared, the revised scores will be taken into account.
The re-exam came a day after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lodged a First Information Report (FIR) concerning the NEET-UG exam held on May 5, following a complaint from the Education Ministry amidst student protests over paper leak allegations. Sixty-three candidates have been barred due to irregularities, including 17 from Bihar and 30 from Godhra in Gujarat.
A seven-member reform committee, led by former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, will investigate the lapses by the NTA and recommend measures to strengthen mechanisms, with a report due in two months.