The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced that candidates who raised concerns about loss of time during the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG 2024) were awarded grace marks. As a result, 67 candidates have achieved NEET All India Rank (AIR) 1, each with a percentile score of 99.997129. The NEET UG 2024 results were declared yesterday on the official website, exams.nta.ac.in/NEET.

Grace Marks for Lost Time

In a statement, the NTA clarified, "NTA received few representations and Court Cases from the candidates of NEET (UG) 2024 raising concerns of loss of time during the conduct of the examination on 05.05.2024. Such cases/representations were considered by NTA and the normalisation formula, which has been devised and adopted by the Hon'ble Apex Court, vide its Judgment dated 13.06.2018, was implemented to address the loss of time faced by the candidates of NEET (UG) 2024."

The NTA further explained, "The loss of examination time was ascertained and such candidates were compensated with grace marks. So, candidate's marks can be 718 or 719 also."

Controversy Over Grace Marks

The announcement has sparked widespread debate among candidates, particularly concerning the unprecedented scores of 718 and 719 marks. According to the NEET marking scheme, four marks are awarded for each correct answer, and one mark is deducted for each incorrect response, making 716 the highest possible score under normal circumstances. However, NEET scorecards showing 718 and 719 marks have been circulating on social media, causing confusion and frustration among aspirants.

Candidate Reactions

Several students took to social media platforms to express their dissatisfaction and demand clearer explanations from the NTA. One student wrote on X: "Dear NTA, This is too much, how can it be possible for a student to get 718 or 719 and why didn't this happen before???? Why is it happening for the first time? This has to be answered properly, not like this. Why are you neglecting to answer? Where is the answer for the leak?"

Another NEET aspirant shared their experience, saying, "In my centre, we received the paper late by 20 minutes, hence loss of time. So we should receive such grace marks too. How do you know only they had a loss of time when under your posts, lakhs of students mentioned loss of time? Why didn't this happen last year or years before?"

Sharing a screenshot of the toppers list released by the NTA, another student pointed out, "From serial no. 62 to serial no. 69, all have similar roll numbers, so they might have given the exam at the same particular centre."

Record Registrations and Cut-off Marks

This year, NEET UG witnessed record-high registrations, with over 24 lakh students participating, including more than 10 lakh male and over 13 lakh female students. The accessibility of examination centers in smaller cities, particularly in the Northeast, hilly, and tribal areas, contributed to this surge.

The cut-off marks for various categories also saw a significant increase:

Counselling for 15% All India Quota Seats

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Government of India, will conduct the counselling for 15% of All India Quota Seats, Deemed Universities, Central Universities, ESIC and AFMC, BHU, and AMU. Candidates can visit www.mcc.nic.in for further information. Counselling will continue until all seats are filled, and detailed schedules will be available on the websites of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Medical Education Directorates of States.