Dharmendra Pradhan on the NEET Controversy: Grace marks were awarded to compensate for lost time

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that students who received grace marks in the NEET UG 2024 exam due to time constraints will have two choices: retake the exam on June 23 with new scores issued by June 30, or accept their original scores without the grace marks. He clarified that there is no information about any paper leaks.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) informed the Supreme Court that it has set up a committee to re-evaluate the results of over 1,563 candidates who received grace marks. These marks were given to compensate for lost time during the exam. The NTA has decided to cancel the current scorecards of these candidates and offer a re-test on June 23, with results to be announced before June 30.

Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan emphasized the government's and NTA's commitment to ensuring justice for all NEET UG candidates, following the Supreme Court's recent hearing.

The May 5 NEET UG exam, conducted by NTA at 4,750 centers for approximately 24 lakh students, has been plagued by accusations of question paper leaks and unjustified grace marks, leading to protests and legal challenges in multiple high courts and the Supreme Court.

Further, this year, 67 students secured a perfect 720 score, which has also fuelled suspicions of cheating.