'Not rational to scrap NEET...': Centre tells Supreme Court
What's the story
The Union Government has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court opposing the cancellation of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) 2024.
The affidavit argues that it would be irrational to cancel the entire exam due to a lack of evidence for a large-scale breach of confidentiality.
"Scrapping the exam in its entirety would seriously jeopardize the lakhs of honest candidates who attempted the question paper in 2024," the Union Ministry of Education stated.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The NEET examination was held on May 5 across 4,750 centers, and around 24 lakh students appeared for it.
The results were announced on June 4, 10 days earlier than initially expected due to the early completion of the answer sheet evaluation.
When the results were announced, a staggering 67 students had achieved the perfect score of 720 marks.
Over 1,563 candidates were also awarded grace marks for "loss of time," but they were later made to retake the test.
Transparency ensured
Ministry assures fair conduct of exams, investigation underway
The ministry also reiterated its commitment to conducting all competitive examinations in a fair and transparent manner, assuring the court that stern action will be taken against those found guilty.
"The Union of India duly appreciates that the confidentiality of the question papers is the utmost priority in any examination and that if due to some criminality...the confidentiality has been breached, the...said person must be dealt with full force of law to ensure that they are punished," the affidavit read.
Investigation initiated
CBI investigates exam malpractices, committee seeks public suggestions
The government further announced that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been directed to conduct a thorough inquiry into the alleged cases of impersonation, cheating, and malpractices in the exam.
Additionally, a high-level committee has been formed to suggest measures for effective, smooth, and transparent conduct of examinations by the National Testing Agency (NTA), it informed.
The committee has begun its deliberations and is inviting suggestions from the public on reform measures.
Legal measures
New law operational, detailed affidavit reserved for later
The Ministry of Education also told the court that a new law, the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, dealing with cheating and paper-leaks in public examinations, has been operational since June 21.
The affidavit filed is only preliminary and does not deal with every contention raised by the petitioners in detail.
A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud will hear a batch of petitions seeking the cancellation of NEET-UG on July 8.