A section of aspirants who appeared for phase two of the National Eligibility cum Entrance test (NEET), conducted on September 12, have moved the Supreme Court, demanding the National Testing Agency to cancel the exam and conduct it afresh. The plea comes amid major scams around the NEET that were unearthed in various parts of the country in the recent past. The petitioners have requested that NEET UG 2021 be conducted again in a fair manner.
In one case, the Rajasthan police arrested an 18-year-old NEET aspirant and seven others in connection with the answer key for the exam being leaked, on September 14. On the same day, Varanasi police arrested a medical student of the King George Medical University and another person for their alleged involvement in a NEET solving racket. In another case, the CBI found that a Nagpur-based consultancy was offering proxies to write the exam for a fee of Rs 50 lakh.
The plea asks the National Testing Agency, which conducts the NEET across the country, to submit a comprehensive report on why the September 12 exam should not be cancelled, and has also asked the Central Bureau of Investigation, along with the Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh police, to submit a fact-finding report on the discrepancies that have come to light. Additionally, the plea also sought that the National Testing Agency (NTA), Ministry of Education and National Medical Commission increase security protocols at the testing centres by implementing biometric verification, use of jammers etc.
Several students and parents have also taken to social media to highlight the issue and demand that the 2021 NEET exam be reconducted.
#NEET 2021 Exam paper leak incident is a huge concern for future examinations
— Mahendra Singh (@Roarofstudents) September 29, 2021
NTA needs to come forward and confirm that no such incident will happen in future and #NEET2021 exam should be Re-Conducted.@DG_NTA @dpradhanbjp#ReNEET #neetphase2forall#neetpaperleaked#FAIRNEET
#fairNEET why should the students who worked hard suffer for NTA failure to conduct fair exam @dpradhanbjp
— UR (@physicsdata) September 28, 2021
Earlier, the petitioners, represented by education activist Sukhpal Toor Singh, had also written to the NTA, seeking the reconduct of the exam. In it, they highlighted some of the difficulties faced by the aspirants including a tight schedule and the fact that the dates clashed with those of other competitive exams. They also said that the NEET pattern was changed just two months prior to the exam, and that students did not have adequate time to prepare for this.