NEET Mystery: Most Top Scorers From One District?

NEET Mystery: Most Top Scorers From One District?

The National Testing Agency (NTA) released the NEET-UG 2024 results, revealing an intriguing pattern in the distribution of high-scoring candidates. A significant cluster of top scorers is concentrated in Rajasthan’s Sikar district, raising concerns and prompting calls for further investigation.

Concentration of High Scorers

Of the 50 NEET-UG exam centres with the highest percentage of candidates scoring above 650 marks, 37 are located in Sikar. This is particularly notable as 2,037 out of 27,216 students (7.48%) who appeared in Sikar scored above 650, significantly higher than the national average of 1.29% (30,204 of 23,33,162).

Petitioners Demand Probe

Krishan Sharma, a parent of an aggrieved candidate and petitioner in the Supreme Court regarding the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak case, emphasized the need for a thorough investigation into this anomaly. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is already investigating paper leak cases in Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, and Maharashtra, where similar high-scoring clusters have been observed.

Other High-Scoring Clusters

In addition to Sikar, other centres showing unusual numbers of high scorers include:

• Rajkot’s R.K. University’s Unit-1 School of Engineering: 12 of the 1,968 candidates scored above 700 marks.
• Ahmedabad’s Delhi Public School: 12 of the 676 candidates scored above 700 marks.
• Haryana’s Rewari and Mahendragarh: High percentages of students scoring above 600 marks, with 22.73% in Rewari and almost 20% in Mahendragarh.

Individual Outliers and Arrests

In Patna, where paper leak cases have been reported, several centres showed a high number of top scorers:

• DAV BSEB Centre: 21 out of 703 students scored above 600 marks, with 10 scoring above 650.
• Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bailey Road: 31 out of 698 candidates scored above 600, with 11 scoring above 650.
• JD Women’s College Centre: 55 out of 1,160 candidates scored above 600, with 17 scoring above 650.

Calls for Transparency

Dr. Sharma urged the Supreme Court to release NEET-UG data from 2023 for comparison. Vivek Pandey, an RTI activist, highlighted other significant outliers, including Jharkhand's Oasis School, where the paper leak led to the arrest of the school’s principal and vice-principal.

Conclusion

The clustering of high-scoring NEET-UG candidates in specific centres, particularly in Sikar, Rajasthan, has raised suspicions of irregularities, prompting demands for a deeper investigation by the CBI. The transparency and integrity of the examination process remain a critical concern for stakeholders.