New Delhi: Has the NEET (UG)-2024 controversy been stoked by coaching centers that stand to lose because of the new, simplified syllabus and question types Government sources indicate that the coaching institutions whose kids did poorly this time are at the center of the controversy. On Thursday, the Center informed the Supreme Court that it had chosen to revoke the grace marks granted to 1,563 applicants. These candidates will now be able to choose to retake the test, which will be administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The Supreme Court has not halted the counseling procedure. Government sources claim that some coaching institutions are casting doubt on the results of the entire investigation, notwithstanding the lack of proof of a document leak.Recent developmentsOn June 14, the Supreme Court ordered the National Testing Agency and the Center to reply to requests for an investigation into claims of question paper leaks and inconsistencies in the undergraduate National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024 by a committee led by a retired Supreme Court or High Court judge or an investigative agency.Petitioners underlined the imminent need for a CBI investigation when they appeared before a Vacation Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta. Is it possible to order an extra-particular CBI investigation today Is that what you submitted Let them file their response we are not refusing your relief, Justice Nath said to the attorneys representing a number of petitioners.NEET contoversy uproarDespite the exam being relatively easy, sources claim that coaching institutions whose students did poorly on the NEET (UG)-2024 have lost face among their student groups and are leading the demonstrations. They further asserted that other coaching organizations are remaining silent. This time around, there were almost 23.3 lakh more applicants for the NEET (UG) exam, the question paper was relatively easier, and the syllabus was cut by over 15%.The sources claimed that the coaching centers, who profit from the difficulty and scope of the curriculum as students want their services, are the true losers with an easy question paper and a condensed syllabus. According to government sources, fewer students feel the need for intensive coaching therefore, coaching institutes implement a simpler curriculum, similar to that of NEET (UG)-2024. This years cut-offs were higher since the exam was given 20 more minutes to be completed.According to sources, a condensed curriculum would enable students to finish their coursework well ahead of schedule, giving them plenty of time for careful revision, which would improve their performance and raise their grades. Additionally, there is no maximum age limit to take the test and an unlimited number of attempts, which allows more experienced candidates to score higher on successive attempts. According to the sources, a challenging question paper is good for the coaching sector, but it will not help rural children who cannot afford private tutoring to compete.The governments actionsIn February, the government also passed the strict Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, bringing with it comprehensive regulations covering a number of important areas of coaching facilities. The Act defines coaching centers, outlines the requirements and paperwork needed to register, addresses fee-related matters, outlines the infrastructure needed to set up coaching centers, creates a code of conduct for coaching centers, emphasizes the importance of mental health, and advocates for the priority of counseling and psychological support within coaching centers, as well as batch segregation and record-keeping. According to sources, this may have irritated coaching facilities, who are currently attempting to undermine the NTAs legitimacy by bringing up the NEET-2024 debate.
