NEET-UG 2024 result: Online campaign builds up pressure for re-examination
Campaigners have posted more than 4.5 lakh posts on X against the 2024 NEET-UG results since June 5,2024.
As pressure mounts for the annual NEET-UG 2024 results, people have flooded social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with more than 4 lakh posts within three days, urging the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct the entrance exam for the prestigious medical courses again.
Results for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) 2024 was declared on June 4. Soon after the declaration, people started raising suspicion over an unusually high number of high-ranking. A total of 67 candidates topped the exam with a 720 score.
Hashtags like #Neet_paper_radd_karo, this hashtag is in hindi, which translates to “Cancel NEET paper”, #Neet_fraud, and #NEET_PAPER_LEAK started getting traction and peaked on Wednesday, June 5. Since then, these hashtags appeared in more than 4.5 lakh posts on X (formerly Twitter), according to social media analytics firms.
#Neet_paper_radd_karo, this hashtag is in hindi, which translates to “Cancel NEET paper” is the most prominent among the three hashtags analysed by India Today. It triggered more than 4.1 lakh X posts since June 5. The hashtag #NEET_PAPER_LEAK appeared in nearly 31 thousand posts while #Neet_fraud clocked nearly a thousands posts on the social media site.
Thousands of similar tweets have also been posted with general hashtags like #NEET and #NEETResults.
ALLEGATION GAINING GROUND
According to the analysis, the highest number of posts, at 1.2 lakh, originated from users in Delhi, followed by Rajasthan (over 37500 posts), Uttar Pradesh (over 16000 posts), and Bihar (over 11500 posts).
Of those advocating for a re-examination, at least 51 percent belong to the age group 25-34, with over 38 per cent aged 18-24.
Nearly half of the participants of the high-volume #Neet_paper_radd_karo, this hashtag is in hindi, which translates to “Cancel NEET paper” hashtag identify themselves as “student”, nearly 12 per cent as “health professional”, and five per cent as “teacher” on X, as per consumer intelligence company Talkwalker.
Videos of protest demonstrations are also circulating on social media. Congress’ student wing, the National Students Union of India (NSUI) also staged protests at many places on Friday as its top leaders in New Delhi demanded re-examination.
The protesters alleged paper leaks, the last-minute introduction of grace marks for time lost, and discrepancies in this year’s results as reasons for their demand.
OFFICIAL DENY WRONGDOING
However, NTA officials have attributed it to easier question papers, reduction in syllabus, and revision in marks for Physics questions for a few students due to revision of the answer key, for unusually high marks.
“We are completely transparent in releasing results and also conducting the exam process. We have nothing to hide” said NTA director general Subodh Kumar.
Meanwhile, an NEET aspirant jumped off a building in Rajasthan’s coaching hub of Kota a day after the announcement of the results.
The NEET-UG question paper was allegedly leaked ahead of the May 5 examination in Patna. The state police’s economic offences wing is investigating the crime and has so far arrested at least 13 people.
NEET-UG is the qualifying entrance exam for admission to Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), Bachelor of Siddha Medicine and Surgery (BSMS), Bachelor of Unani Medicine and Surgery (BUMS), and Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine and Surgery (BHMS) and BSc (H) Nursing courses.