“Attacking dreams of youth”: Priyanka Gandhi’s jab at the Centre in the context of the NEET-UG dispute

Congresswoman Priyanka Gandhi Vadra criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government on Friday, saying that it started “attacking the dreams of the youth as soon as it took oath,” in reference to the ongoing controversy surrounding the alleged irregularities surrounding the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-Undergraduate) exams.

“As soon as the new BJP government took oath, it again started attacking the dreams of the youth,” Vadra remarked, taking aim at X. The complaints of 24 lakh students and their parents are totally disregarded by the haughty answer of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan regarding the anomalies in the NEET exam results. Does the Minister of Education not recognise that the information is in the public domain?

The National Testing Agency (NTA) administered the exam on May 5 at 4,750 locations for around 24 lakh pupils. The exam is under investigation because of claims of compromised papers and debatable grace marks. The fact that 67 pupils, an exceptionally high percentage, achieved a perfect score of 720, raises concerns.

She further said that the administration was disregarding the youth. “The question is, by disregarding lakhs of young people and their parents, who in the system does the government hope to save?” Shouldn’t young people’s hopes cease to be offered up on the altar of this dishonest testing system?

Gandhi highlighted in her post that rather than dismissing concerns from parents and students, the government ought to listen to them carefully and take appropriate action. “The BJP government should abandon its ego and think seriously about the future of the youth and take measures to curb corruption in examinations,” she said.

Digvijay Singh, a Congress leader and former chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, has called for an investigation into the irregularities in the top medical exam and has suggested that the entire exam be cancelled.

“It is my demand that the entire examination be cancelled and rescheduled for a later date, along with a completely unbiased investigation into this matter under the recently passed legislation by the Parliament and the gravest penalties being meted out to the guilty,” Singh wrote on X.

Singh referred to it as the NEET-UG “scam” and described it as “extremely serious.”

The NEET (UG)-2024 fraud is a very significant matter. This is the massive nationwide version of the Madhya Pradesh Vyapam scandal, which not only calls into question the National Examination Agency’s (NTA) integrity but also demonstrates how flawed and corrupt it is. The nationwide scam by NTA in a significant exam like NEET conducted for admission to medical colleges raises questions on the entire credibility of the government and the examination agency, he continued, despite the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill 2024 being passed in Parliament in February 2024 and strict laws being enacted in this regard.

“Should the government not seriously consider the following points?” he inquired further. How did the NEET exam paper leak in Patna on May 4, 2024, when the exam was scheduled for May 5? Additionally, why did the government do nothing when a FIR was filed on May 6 against those who were discovered in Patna? The exam’s registration date was set by NTA to take place between February 9 and March 9, 2024. This was later moved to March 16. What then was the rationale behind the one-day return of the online registration window on April 10?

On May 6, information of students collecting money to purchase the NEET question paper for ₹60 crore was reported in an Uttar Pradesh publication. Even so, how could the NTA describe these reports as unfounded in a press release on May 6, 2024, rather than acknowledging them? How come 67 students received all 720 marks out of 720 when the exam results were released in June 2024? In contrast, only 2 students received all 720 marks out of 720 in 2020, 3 in 2021, 0 in 2022, and 2 in 2023. In what way did the All India Rank-1 toppers’ count rise by  5625 per cent compared to last year? Isn’t this unexpected,” he also said.

On Thursday, the NTA notified the Supreme Court that it will be nullifying the results of 1563 applicants who obtained “grace marks” in the NEET-UG examination. On June 23, these applicants will have the chance to repeat the test; the outcomes will be made public by June 30.

In addition, the NTA informed the bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that a committee had been established to examine the outcomes of the applicants who received bonus points because of the challenges they encountered in the NEET-UG examination. “The Committee has made the decision to remove the grace marks from the scorecards of 1563 NEET-UG 2024 participants. These students will have the opportunity to retake the exam. The exam will be conducted on June 23 and the results will be declared before June 30,” it said.

Singh also questioned the fairness of the treatment of students who choose not to appear in court.

1,563 students who had received grace marks but had supplied different answers to the exams moved to court to resolve the issue. Therefore, did those pupils who were unable to access the courts not receive justice? How did eight students who took the exam at the same location in Jhajjar, Haryana, achieve a score of 720 out of 720? While one of these pupils did not pass the exam for the twelfth grade? He went on, “Why don’t any of these toppers in this centre have a last name?

He also has concerns about the exam’s grace mark distribution. “How did eight students from this examination centre receive 720 out of 720 marks if Bihar Police had looked into an examination centre in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, on suspicion of irregularities and NTA had denied a paper leak?” And how did a few students at this centre receive grades of 716, 718, and 719? Which formula was used to determine the pupils’ scores of 718 and 719? Because a student can receive up to 715 marks for a single incorrect answer, as per the stated formula, if they answer a question incorrectly, their 4 marks will be decreased and they will receive a minus marking of 1 mark.

Singh made fun of the centre by claiming that students from Jharkhand, Odisha, and Karnataka selected Gujarat as their centre. A day prior to the exam, he further stated that the paper was leaked on the instant messaging service Telegram.

Why did the NTA deny any misconduct in the face of this evidence? Why didn’t the government investigate the claims that students in Gujarat were bribing an international education consultant between ₹20 and ₹25 lakhs? Why were English-language question papers handed to Hindi-language students at a Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, testing centre? The Honourable Supreme Court has questioned the validity of NEET and has mandated that 1563 candidates who received grace marks on June 23, 2024, take the exam again.This will not benefit those students who could not go to court,” he added.

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