Not Rational To Scrap NEET-UG, Will Jeopardise Lakhs Of Students: Govt To Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Central government has conveyed its unwillingness to conduct the NEET-UG 2024 exam again to the Supreme Court.

In an affidavit to the apex court, the government opposed the scrapping of NEET-UG, saying it would “seriously jeopardise” lakhs of “honest candidates” who appeared for medical entrance exam.

The Union Education ministry, in its affidavit filed on Thursday, acknowledged that there were “instances of irregularities, cheating, impersonation, malpractices” during the conduct of NEET-UG 2024, but there is no mention of paper leak.

“In the absence of any proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in a pan-India examination, it would not be rational to scrap the entire examination,” the government submitted.

The NEET-UG 2024 exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), has been under a cloud over reports of question paper leaks in some states and awarding of grace marks to 1,563 students.

Following widespread protests across India, the grace marks were withdrawn and a re-test was held for just those candidates.

The Centre assured the Supreme Court that the CBI was conducting a thorough investigation into alleged irregularities, and was committed to conducting all exams in a fair and transparent manner.

The government further stated that the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act was already in force, with provisions of stringent punishment for offences related to unfair means in exams.

A bench headed by CJI D Y Chandrachud will hear a batch of petitions, seeking a re-test, on July 8.