 "NEET-UG 2024: Review shows missing CCTVs, unguarded strong rooms at centres")
A review, conducted by a third party, of the NEET 2024 undergraduate exam this year showed significant ‘non-compliances’ at several exam centres on May 5. These included instances where the required two operational CCTVs were absent from exam rooms, and cases where strong rooms, housing question papers at the centres, were found unguarded, according to a report by The Indian Express.
The report quoted sources as saying that the National Testing Agency (NTA), responsible for conducting NEET-UG and facing scrutiny over alleged irregularities including accusations of paper leaks, received official notification of the third-party review’s findings on June 16, nearly 12 days after announcing the examination results.
As part of the review, the third party visited 399 exam centres (out of around 4,000) agreed upon by both the NTA and the reviewing party.
Nationwide exam security lapses
The review conducted on the exam day revealed that out of the 399 visited exam centres, 186 (46 per cent) lacked the mandated two functioning CCTVs in each exam room. These cameras are installed to provide live feeds to the Central Control Room at NTA headquarters in New Delhi for monitoring, the report said.
Moreover, in 68 (16 per cent) of the 399 sampled exam centres, the strong room was not guarded. According to regulations, the strong room should have been secured until the distribution of question papers.
At 83 centres, the biometric staff was different from the designated staff assigned to those centres.
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How is the review carried out?
For the review process, the observer, appointed by the third party, uses a detailed checklist to verify physical controls at examination centres (including the functionality of jammers covering all required rooms, physical security, access to the exam centre, physical movement within the centre, and frisking as required); seating arrangements compared to the allotted seats; the presence of the required number of invigilators, CCTV staff, and other necessary requirements, the report stated.
When selecting a school or any location as an exam centre for NEET-UG, the NTA considers various factors. These include infrastructure standards, the centre's vulnerability to potential malpractices, candidate seating capacity, accessibility, access to clean facilities, and the presence of essential life-safety equipment.
The NTA has faced significant criticism due to issues with the NEET-UG results announced on June 4, the same day as the Lok Sabha election results.
What’s the NEET 2024 row?
An unusually high number of candidates (67) achieved a perfect score of 720/720. Some even scored 718 or 719 — marks that others argued were not feasible, given the exam’s structure. The NTA explained this by citing several factors: a comparatively easier paper, the decision to grant extra marks to students who lost time due to errors and delays caused by NTA staff and invigilators, and an incorrect question.
NEET-UG 2024: Arrests so far
Additionally, the NTA is contending with allegations of a question paper leak in Bihar, where state police have arrested 13 individuals.
Out of the 13 arrested in the state, four are NEET candidates, while the others include their parents and members of an organised gang. This gang allegedly assembled 35 candidates at a school within the Ramakrishna Nagar police station’s jurisdiction before the exam and conducted a mock test, during which they reportedly obtained the NEET question paper along with the answers.
Additionally, two examination centres in Godhra, Gujarat, are being scrutinised by the state police for allegedly assisting candidates in filling out the correct answers in their OMR sheets.