Students with zero, negative marks in Physics and Chemistry got MBBS seats through NEET

A number of students, who scored zero or negative marks in subjects like Physics and Chemistry, got admission in medical colleges to pursue MBBS through the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). According to a report in The Times of India, more than 400 such students got admissions, mostly in private medical colleges.

A change in the notification, which prescribed the criteria for the selection of students, is believed to be the reason for this. While the original notification made it mandatory for the students to score at least 50% marks in each subject, a second notification introduced percentile system, doing away with the requirement in individual subjects.

Till now, the NEET exams were conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) but the government has now decided that they will be conducted by the National Testing Agency. The same was confirmed by Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar earlier in June.

Making the announcement, Javadekar had also said that students could appear for NEET twice a year and the best score would be considered for admission. He said that the tests would be conducted in February and May every year.

"The exams will be more secure and at par with international norms. There will be no issues of leakage and it would be more student friendly, open, scientific and a leak-proof system," the Union HRD Minister had told reporters.

NEET had often been marred in controversy ever since its inception. A public interest litigation (PIL) was filed in the Madras High Court recently, citing flaws in Tamil medium question paper. The Madurai Bench of the high court later directed the CBSE to award grace marks to all candidates who took the exam in Tamil language. The CBSE was given a time of two weeks to revise the NEET rank list.