NEET Row: Left Students’ Group Calls For Two-day Nationwide Strike

New Delhi: Left-wing students’ groups, the All India Students’ Association (AISA) on Saturday called for a two-day nationwide strike to protest the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions. The groups called for the strike on June 19 and 20 to protest against the alleged corruption and mismanagement by the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the examination, India Today reported.

Notably, a row erupted after a record number of 67 students scored the highest marks, with some of these high scorers coming from the same exam centre in Haryana, leading to allegations of cheating or a paper leak. Students alleged that inflated grace marks were given and questioned the practice.

AISA Delhi State Secretary Neha accused Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan of remaining silent on the issue. She highlighted the plight of students and parents. NEET aspirants and students also expressed their concerns at a press conference in New Delhi. Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) Students Union president Dhananjay condemned the NTA, describing the NEET 2024 irregularities as symptomatic of a deeper systemic problem.

AISA has demanded re-conducting of the exam, an independent enquiry into the alleged corruption and the dissolution of the NTA, and urged students across the country to take part in the strike, the report added.

Meanwhile, 20 students who had appeared for the medical entrance exam filed a plea in the Supreme Court on Saturday seeking the scrapping of the NEET-UG 2024 exam. Notably, the top court is already hearing other petitions on the matter.

The new petition also demanded an SC-monitored probe by the CBI or any other independent agency into the alleged irregularities and a direction to the NTA and others to conduct the test afresh.