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The country’s biggest and prestigious medical entrance examination ‘NEET-UG’ once again seems to be embroiled in serious controversies and legal troubles. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has taken a strong stand regarding the shocking discrepancies found in the examination results of a 19-year-old student from Gurdaspur, Punjab. The student alleges that she had scored 520 marks out of 720 on the basis of matching the official answer key and the OMR sheet downloaded from the portal, but when the official result was declared, her marks came down to just 85. Not only this, the agency has claimed to have issued two different OMR sheets with different answers and different scorecards in the name of the student.
In view of the extraordinary seriousness of the matter, the division bench of Punjab and Haryana High Court has summoned the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Central Government and directed them to present the original OMR sheet of the candidate and both the disputed scorecards in a sealed envelope before the court. After this order, serious questions have once again been raised on the evaluation system and data security of the examination conducting agency.
Surprising game of numbers 520 to 85: Sensational claim of student
Petitioner student Deeksha Devi (resident of district Gurdaspur, Punjab) has filed a petition in the High Court through her advocate Vikramjit Singh Bajwa. According to the petition, Deeksha had appeared in the re-examination of NEET-UG. After the examination, on July 13, when the National Testing Agency (NTA) uploaded the OMR sheets of the candidates on the official website and opened the correction window, the student downloaded her OMR response sheet.
When the student matched the answers of her downloaded OMR sheet with the provisional answer key released by NTA, her total score was 520 marks out of 720. On this score of 520 marks, the student had every hope of getting an MBBS seat in a good government or reputed medical college. But when NTA declared the official results on July 16, the student and her family were shocked to see the scorecard. In the result, the student’s total score was shown as only 85 marks instead of 520 and she was left out of the merit list.
Two different OMR sheets and changed scorecard: What’s the whole matter?
The allegations made in the petition are extremely shocking. According to the advocate, the student received a second OMR sheet from the NTA system on July 17 after the discrepancy in the result came to light. In this second OMR sheet, the candidate’s name, roll number and other personal details were exactly the same, but the answers in the circles (option marking) filled in it were completely different from the first sheet.
In the second OMR sheet, such answers were recorded which when evaluated made the total marks only 85. The petition alleges that the existence of two OMR sheets with different answers in the name of the same candidate in the online system does not indicate any simple technical error, but tampering with the digital record or the existence of a ‘backdoor channel’.
The paradox of NTA office affair and email
The student immediately lodged an official complaint regarding the matter with the Grievance Cell of NTA. The petitioner claims that after the complaint, in an email received from NTA on July 19, his score was again shown as 520 marks and 520 marks were also recorded in the mark sheet. After this, she along with her family members reached NTA headquarters in Delhi on July 20 and gave a written application on the entire matter.
After talks at the headquarters level, he got assurance that the result would be corrected, but on July 27, his result was again changed to 85 marks on the portal. When the student contacted again, she was allegedly shown the same OMR sheet containing 85 marks and declared ineligible. After being disappointed at every level, the student approached the High Court pleading for justice.
Strict stance of Punjab and Haryana High Court: Original records sought in sealed envelope
The case was heard before the division bench of Justice Suvir Sehgal and Justice Deepinder Singh Nalwa. In the court, the petitioner’s counsel presented evidence of both the scorecards and different OMR sheets, arguing that due to the arbitrary and flawed process of the agency, the future of a bright student was shrouded in darkness.
On the other hand, advocate Arun Gosain, appearing for NTA, argued that the decision has already been taken after considering the candidate’s representation and in this regard a copy of the email dated July 27 was placed before the court.
Seeing the huge difference in the arguments and documents of both the parties, the division bench directed that NTA should present the ‘Original Physical OMR Sheet’ of the petitioner candidate and both the scorecards issued till now directly before the court in a sealed cover. Only after the original physical documents are revealed, it will be scientifically and judicially clear what answers the student had actually marked at the examination center and where the mistake occurred during uploading in the system.
Petitioner’s demand: Request for provisional counseling and impartial investigation.
The student has prayed to the court that till the time this discrepancy is finally resolved, she may be allowed to appear in the medical admission counseling on the basis of 520 marks on a provisional basis, so that one of her academic years is not wasted in case the counseling process is over.
Along with this, the petition also demands that a thorough technical and criminal investigation should be conducted into how two different OMR sheets were generated on the same roll number and strict punitive action should be ensured against the responsible officials and technical service providers.
Questions arising on NEET evaluation system and concerns of students
Amidst the already controversies regarding paper leaks and grace marks regarding NEET exam, the emergence of such OMR controversy is a deep blow to the credibility of the exam. Lakhs of students across the country cherish the dream of becoming doctors by taking coaching and hard work for years. In such a situation, if such huge flaws are revealed in the process of digital OMR uploading and scorecard generation, then it directly hurts the mental health of the candidates and the merit system.
With the Punjab-Haryana High Court summoning the original records, now all eyes are on the upcoming hearing. This step of the court can not only prove to be a milestone in providing justice to the victim student but can also set new guidelines in future to ensure impenetrable transparency in the entire process of OMR scanning, barcode tracking and scorecard publication.