Unguarded Strong-Rooms, CCTVs Missing: NEET 2024 Exam Centres Reek Of Malpractice

A third-party review of this year's NEET undergraduate exam revealed some "worrying non-compliances" at many exam centres on May 5. These included missing the required two working CCTV cameras in exam rooms and unguarded strong rooms where question papers are stored.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), responsible for conducting NEET-UG and facing allegations of paper leaks, was officially notified of these findings on June 16, 12 days after the exam results were announced.

The review involved visits to 399 of the approximately 4,000 exam centres, selected by mutual agreement between the NTA and the third party. The review, conducted on the exam day, found that 186 (46%) of the centres lacked the mandated two working CCTV cameras in each exam room, which are supposed to send live feeds to the NTA headquarters' Central Control Room in New Delhi for monitoring.

Additionally, 68 (16%) of the centres had unguarded strong rooms that should have been secured until the distribution of question papers. Moreover, at 83 centres, the biometric staff present was not the designated staff for those centres, reported the Indian Express.

The review aimed to identify non-compliance with guidelines or any apparent malpractices on the exam day. Observers used a detailed checklist to verify physical controls at exam centres, such as functioning jammers, security measures, access controls, seating arrangements, and the presence of required invigilators and CCTV staff.

In selecting exam centres for NEET-UG, the NTA considers factors like infrastructure standards, vulnerability to malpractices, seating capacity, accessibility, cleanliness, and essential life-safety equipment.

The NTA has faced significant criticism due to issues with the NEET-UG results announced on June 4, coinciding with the Lok Sabha election results. An unusually high number of candidates (67) scored a perfect 720/720, and others scored 718 or 719, raising doubts about the exam's integrity. The NTA attributed this to an easier paper, additional marks for students who lost time due to NTA staff errors, and an incorrect question.

The NTA is also dealing with allegations of a question paper leak in Bihar, where state police arrested 13 people, including four candidates and members of an organised gang, who allegedly conducted a mock exam with the leaked NEET question paper. Additionally, two exam centres in Godhra, Gujarat, are under investigation for allegedly assisting candidates in filling out their OMR sheets correctly.