Manash Pratim Gohain
NEW DELHI: National Testing Agency (NTA) has said that only 175 candidates from 12 centres in Patna and eight from two Godhra centres managed to score 640 or above in the NEET-UG exam. None of the candidates from the Godhra centres under scrutiny scored 680 or above, and only 35 candidates from the Patna centres achieved this score, it said.
Claiming there was no “systemic leak“, agency officials told TOI that the top 1000, 5000 and 10,000 students were distributed across the 800-plus centres and were not necessarily from the cohort of centres under scrutiny.
NTA said its data analysis did not indicate a “larger leak” beyond Patna. It also said the candidate whose test booklet was investigated scored just 103 marks. “Roshni, whose booklet was confiscated by Bihar Police, scored 103 marks out of 720,” an NTA official said.
Agency officials claimed that data analysis of the top 11,000 ranks showed an even distribution across 800-plus centres. Explaining the analysis, an official said following the alleged leak, NTA examined not just the top scorers but also those beyond the top 100.
“We looked into the scoring patterns for each group of thousand candidates and their distribution. For example, the top 1,000 candidates are spread across 800 centres,” the official said. He added that the top 1 lakh candidates, who are most likely to secure MBBS or dental seats, are distributed across 4,500 of the 4,750 centres, debunking allegations that toppers were concentrated in specific centres. “If we examine even smaller groups, such as the top 5,000 candidates, they too are distributed across 780 centres,” he said.
Over 13 lakh of the 23 lakh candidates who took the medical entrance test on May 5 qualified. The official argued that if there was widespread irregularities and access to question papers as alleged, the qualification average for Patna and Godhra would have been much higher. “The qualifying average for Patna and Godhra are not only lower than the national average but also lower than their neighbouring cities and centres,” the official said.
Another concern raised by the petitioners and the SC was the significant increase in the number of perfect scorers. This year, 67 candidates scored 720, compared to just seven in the last four years. Later, six candidates were stripped of the grace marks due to time loss, which had given them perfect scores, and were offered a retest. Five who took the retest on June 23 scored less than 720.
Claiming there was no “systemic leak“, agency officials told TOI that the top 1000, 5000 and 10,000 students were distributed across the 800-plus centres and were not necessarily from the cohort of centres under scrutiny.
NTA said its data analysis did not indicate a “larger leak” beyond Patna. It also said the candidate whose test booklet was investigated scored just 103 marks. “Roshni, whose booklet was confiscated by Bihar Police, scored 103 marks out of 720,” an NTA official said.
Agency officials claimed that data analysis of the top 11,000 ranks showed an even distribution across 800-plus centres. Explaining the analysis, an official said following the alleged leak, NTA examined not just the top scorers but also those beyond the top 100.
“We looked into the scoring patterns for each group of thousand candidates and their distribution. For example, the top 1,000 candidates are spread across 800 centres,” the official said. He added that the top 1 lakh candidates, who are most likely to secure MBBS or dental seats, are distributed across 4,500 of the 4,750 centres, debunking allegations that toppers were concentrated in specific centres. “If we examine even smaller groups, such as the top 5,000 candidates, they too are distributed across 780 centres,” he said.
Over 13 lakh of the 23 lakh candidates who took the medical entrance test on May 5 qualified. The official argued that if there was widespread irregularities and access to question papers as alleged, the qualification average for Patna and Godhra would have been much higher. “The qualifying average for Patna and Godhra are not only lower than the national average but also lower than their neighbouring cities and centres,” the official said.
Another concern raised by the petitioners and the SC was the significant increase in the number of perfect scorers. This year, 67 candidates scored 720, compared to just seven in the last four years. Later, six candidates were stripped of the grace marks due to time loss, which had given them perfect scores, and were offered a retest. Five who took the retest on June 23 scored less than 720.