SC decision on NEET fair to lakhs but we have been cheated: 2 petitioners

Weeks of waiting finally concluded on Thursday as the Supreme Court (SC) stayed an order by the Bombay high court (HC), thus making way for the announcement of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) results.

Weeks of waiting finally concluded on Thursday as the Supreme Court (SC) stayed an order by the Bombay high court (HC), thus making way for the announcement of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) results.

Weeks of waiting finally concluded on Thursday as the Supreme Court (SC) stayed an order by the Bombay high court (HC), thus making way for the announcement of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) results. (HT FILE)

Undergraduate medical and dental aspirants have been on the edge waiting for the National Testing Agency (NTA) to announce results for NEET-UG, the exam for which was conducted on September 12. A petition by two aspirants from Solapur demanding a retest for thems, however, was delaying this step.

“Over 16 lakh students appeared for the NEET exam and more delays in the process of announcing results directly affects the academic year of first-year students. The previous batch already faced a lot of trouble and we are hoping we don’t face a similar fate,” said Anirudh Pai, a NEET-UG aspirant. He added that while he feels bad for the two students who were wronged “by the system”, delaying results of everyone else would be a huge punishment for all.

The Bombay high court (HC) last week directed the NTA — the nodal exam conducting agency — to conduct NEET examination afresh for two candidates who approached the judiciary. These students in their plea mentioned how on the day of the examination, on September 12, both students were handed a question paper and answer booklet with mismatched code numbers. This automatically meant their answer sheets were not accepted by the automated system and therefore left them with no answer booklets to base their score on.

“I have attempted the exam with all my knowledge, but due to the error on part of the invigilator, my answers do not match the question paper so I have been marked zero in the exam. None of this is our fault but the judiciary has punished us in this bargain,” said Abhishek Kapase, 19, one of the two students from Solapur who approached the Bombay high court (HC) earlier this month.

Both Abhishek and Vaishnavi Bhopale, 19, were appearing for NEET from the same centre in Solapur this year and both were facing similar trouble — the code on their question paper and answer booklet did not match. What’s worse is that both students brought this to the notice of the invigilator, but received no help.

“Just like every other medical aspirant, we have spent the last two years preparing for NEET and appeared for the exam with all our knowledge possible. Because of this decision now, we will end up wasting an entire academic year and will have to appear for NEET again’ next year. How is this fair to us?” asked Bhopale.

While most parents are happy with the decision of the apex court staying the Bombay HC order and making way for NEET-UG results, some feel the two students should have been given a chance to prove their case.

“While the SC has given importance to the larger interest of students, considering the lives of 16 lakh students, their decision has been unfair to these students. Their precious year goes waste, and so does their hard work of the last two years,” said Brijesh Sutaria, parent of a medical student.