The Ministry of Education has convened a four-member panel to re-examine the grace marks awarded to over 1,500 candidates in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced on Saturday.
This decision follows allegations of mark inflation that resulted in 67 candidates sharing the top rank.
"The panel, chaired by a former UPSC chairman, will present its recommendations within a week. The results of these candidates may be revised accordingly," stated NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh during a press conference.
Singh made it clear that the grace marks did not affect the exam's qualifying criteria and assured that the review process would not disrupt the ongoing admission procedures.
The controversy erupted as several NEET aspirants claimed that mark inflation had led to an unprecedented 67 candidates achieving the top rank, with six of them hailing from the same examination centre.
Despite these allegations, the NTA refuted any malpractice, attributing the higher scores to recent changes in NCERT textbooks and the provision of grace marks to compensate for time lost at exam centres.