NEET-UG row: Congress to hold nationwide protest on Friday
The Supreme Court on Monday told the Centre and NTA not to shy away from admitting any mistake in conducting the NEET-UG this year and cautioned that even 0.01% negligence should be thoroughly dealt with
New Delhi: The Congress party on Wednesday announced a nationwide agitation over the ongoing National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) controversy and directed its state units to hold protests at their headquarters on Friday, demanding justice for the students.
In a letter addressed to Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, in-charges and heads of all frontal organisations, and All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretaries, Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal on Wednesday said that there is an urgent need to address the numerous complaints and concerns surrounding the NEET-UG 2024 conduct and results.
“As you are aware, the National Testing Agency (NTA) released the results of NEET-UG 2024 on 4th June 2024. The results have been marred by allegations of irregularities and paper leaks following the inflated marks of some aspirants,” the letter from Venugopal read.
He said that there are significant concerns over inflated marks and irregularities, and awarding grace marks without disclosing the methodology further raises doubts”. “The examination has been plagued by technical glitches, malpractice, and unfair means in certain test centres. Organized corruption is evident from arrests made in Bihar, Gujarat, and Haryana, revealing a pattern of malpractice in BJP-ruled states,” the letter read.
“The Hon’ble Supreme Court has also highlighted the seriousness of these allegations, demanding zero tolerance for negligence. Such irregularities undermine the credibility of the examination process and jeopardise the future of countless dedicated students. The Congress party had promised to secure the future of the youth by enforcing strict laws against paper leaks in our manifesto,” it added.
“Against this massive corruption and irregularities in the NEET Examination and the desperate inaction and silence of the NDA Government, all Pradesh Congress Committees are requested to hold massive protests at state headquarters on Friday, 21 June 2024, demanding justice for the students. This demonstration should involve senior leaders and party functionaries,” Venugopal said and sought a detailed report on the protests from the party’s state units.
For weeks, protests have swept across India as thousands of students hit the streets against this year’s process amid allegations of NEET-UG question paper leaks, inflated marking and arbitrary allowance of grace marks, even as opposition parties called for a Supreme Court-monitored probe into the allegations.
The Supreme Court on Monday told the Centre and NTA not to shy away from admitting any mistake in conducting the NEET-UG this year and cautioned that even 0.01% negligence should be thoroughly dealt with, underlining the chaos engulfing India’s premier medical entrance examination that threatens to jeopardise the futures of hundreds of thousands of children.
The government has repeatedly said it will not tolerate malpractice and irregularities but also ruled out scrapping the entire examination over what it calls problems in a handful of centres.
Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said that the initial information was that some students were given grace marks due to less time. “...Secondly, some irregularities have come to light at two places. I assure the students and parents that the government has taken this seriously. We have received the information and we will take all the issues to a decisive stage.”
“Even if senior officials of the NTA are found guilty, they will not be spared. A lot of improvement is required in NTA. The government is concerned about this, no culprit will be spared,” he had said.
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