Oppn's all-out attack on Centre over NEET

New Delhi: Opposition leaders have targeted the Centre over the massive row surrounding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) that has triggered protests by aspirants in several parts of the country. Targeting the Centre over the raging issue, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said grace marks are not the only problem. 

“There has been rigging, papers have been leaked, and corruption has taken place. The future of 24 lakh students appearing in the NEET examination is at stake due to the actions of the Modi government.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has said the “scam in NEET” has devastated more than 24 lakh students and their families The DMK, which has been opposing NEET ever since it was introduced, has slammed the National Testing Agency for destroying the exam’s sanctity and said the Centre was a nothing more than a “spectator” and backing coaching centres.

RJD leader and Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejasjwi Yadav said paper leaks are “inevitable” whenever the BJP is in power at the Centre or in the state.

Trinamool leader and Bengal education minister Bratya Basu said the Centre expedites a probe into alleged irregularities in teachers’ recruitment in the eastern state. “But it is silent on probing the irregularities in NEET-UG, which affected the future careers of lakhs of aspiring doctors across the country,” he said.

Earlier, in the aftermath of the NEET results, allegations of paper leak surfaced. As many as 67 students scored the perfect score of 720/720. The cut-off has gone up exponentially, leaving many wondering if they would get a medical college seat at all.

Another issue that has come under the scanner is the award of grace marks to several students to compensate for loss of time at the exam centre. The protesting students allege this is responsible for the inflated marks.

The matter is before the Supreme Court, and the Centre has told the court that it had cancelled the grace marks given to 1,563 candidates. They now have the option to take a re-test or forgo the grace marks. But a section of students has said this is not enough and the exam must be repeated for all students.