NEET City-wise result data shows 3.5% students scoring above 600, petitioners say not disclosing roll numbers against spirit of SC order

The National Testing Agency on Saturday, July 20 released the city-specific and centre-wise result data for nearly 24 lakh candidates who had taken the NEET UG 2024 exam across the country. Since the results were declared on June 4, ten days earlier than scheduled, stakeholders have raised concerns about the unprecedented number of top scorers nationwide.This has led to multiple questions being asked regarding the integrity of the examination, followed by numerous petitions and multiple rounds of hearing across several lower courts and recently the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court previously mandated the National Testing Agency (NTA) to publish the examination results on a centre-by-centre basis by Saturday noon. This exam saw over 23 lakh students competing for more than 1 lakh MBBS seats. To investigate the candidates who benefited from the NEET-UG question paper leak in Bihar and to determine the extent of the leakage, the Chief Justice of India directed the NTA not to reveal the names of the candidates in the published results.
NEET UG scoring patterns over the years
Reports indicate that out of the total candidates, a little over 81,000 (or 3.49%) scored 600 and above out of 720 marks in this year's examination. In contrast, in 2023, 29,351 candidates (1.43% of the total) achieved this score, and in 2022, 21,164 candidates (1.19% of the total) did so. The results released on Saturday show that over 100 of the 4,750 test centres had more than three times the average share of high-scoring candidates, with scores exceeding 600 marks.
Concentration of high scores in Rajasthan
More than half of these 109 examination centres are situated in Sikar (44) and Kota (16), well-known coaching hubs in Rajasthan. Of the 44 test centres in Sikar with high-scoring candidates, more than half (24) had at least five times the national average of candidates scoring above 600 marks. According to a TOI report, over 2,000 candidates from centres in Sikar scored more than 650 marks, while Kottayam, similar to Kota, also had a significant number of high-scorers. Sikar saw an increase in top-1000 rank holders from 27 in 2023 to 55 this year. Similarly, Kota's top rank holders rose from 13 to 35.
Disparities in performance across centres in Haryana
An analysis of the result data highlighted that while attention was focused on one centre in Haryana's Jhajjar, candidates at Rohtak's Model School centre, another coaching hub, performed notably better. Of the 734 candidates from Rohtak's Model School centre, one scored 700, 14 others scored 650 and above, and 30 scored between 600 and 649.
Notable performance in Rajkot
Rajkot in Gujarat, another popular coaching destination, also reported impressive results. At the Unit-1 School of Engineering centre, over 250 of the 1,968 candidates scored 600 and above, with 12 candidates scoring 700 or more and one achieving a perfect score of 720, likely the highest for any centre in this year's NEET. According to a TOI report, over 12.5% of candidates at this centre scored 600-plus marks.
NEET UG City, centre-wise results on NTA website not been complied with letter and spirit say student petitioners
Petitioners have raised concerns that the NTA has not fully complied with the Supreme Court's order to upload city and centre-wise results on its website. According to reports, students involved in the petition Tanmaya Sharma and Others vs NTA have written to the Union Education Minister and NTA DG Pradeep Singh Kharola, arguing that the order dated July 18 was not followed in letter and spirit. They contended that the NTA's omission of student roll numbers in the uploaded details obstructs public access to information and hampers the ability to assist the Supreme Court in making a decision.