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NEET UG paper leak: Action against over 250 students, aspirants for ‘unfair practices’

The National Medical Commission (NMC) — the apex regulator of medical education in the country — has cancelled the admissions of at least 14 students who enrolled in the 2024-25 session.

Amid the ongoing CBI probe into last year’s NEET UG paper leak, the government has taken action against over 250 MBBS students and aspirants who were allegedly involved in unfair practices such as solving leaked question papers and impersonating other candidates during the examination.

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The National Medical Commission (NMC) — the apex regulator of medical education in the country — has cancelled the admissions of at least 14 students who enrolled in the 2024-25 session. The candidature of another 215 students who appeared for the examination has been put on hold, according to official sources in the Union Health Ministry. Another 26 students already enrolled in MBBS courses, who were found complicit in helping aspirants through unfair means, have also been suspended.

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According to the source, the NMC has issued directives to the medical colleges concerned to suspend these students immediately.

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As many as 42 candidates have been debarred from taking the NEET UG examination for three years — 2024, 2025, and 2026. Another nine candidates have been barred from appearing in the examination for two years 2024 and 2025, according to the source.

Last year, questions were raised over the NEET UG examinations after the results were declared. The first sign of trouble was an unusually high 67 students scoring a perfect 720. Others also pointed out that some candidates had scored 719, which was impossible to get with the test giving 4 marks for each correct answer and deducting 1 mark for each incorrect one. This brought to light the issue of grace marks given to 1,563 students who claimed loss of time during the examination. Grace marks were also awarded for another question, where one of the incorrect answers was part of previous versions of CBSE books. These grace marks were cancelled and the affected students were given the option to take the test again.

Then emerged the allegations of question paper leak. The government claimed that the paper leak was restricted to a few centres and was not widespread, adding that there was no need for a re-test.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More

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