NEET-UG Analysis Reveals Centres with High Number of Top Scorers

The National Testing Agency (NTA) released city- and centre-wise results for the NEET-UG medical entrance exam on Saturday. The release follows allegations of irregularities, including a paper leak. An analysis of the data shows that candidates who allegedly benefited from these irregularities did not perform well. However, some centres have a high concentration of top-performing students.

The NTA's voluminous result data, covering over 32 lakh candidates from 4,750 centres, was not released in a cumulative format but through a drop-down menu for each centre. This release was directed by the Supreme Court, which is hearing petitions regarding the alleged irregularities. Many aspirants are awaiting a final verdict on the exam's fate.

High Concentration of Top Scorers

Some centres showed a high number of top scorers. For instance, at the School of Engineering, RK University in Rajkot, Gujarat, over 240 candidates scored above 600 marks. Among them, 12 scored above 700 out of 720 marks. In Rajasthan’s Sikar, Mangal Chand Didwaniya Vidya Mandir centre saw four students scoring more than 700 marks, 45 above 650 marks, and 115 above 600 marks.

Similarly, another centre in Sikar, Aravali Public School, had 90 students scoring over 600 marks. Sikar is emerging as a coaching hub for NEET-UG. At another Sikar centre, 83 students scored between 600 and 700 marks. Over 27,000 candidates appeared at exam centres in Sikar; more than 4,200 scored above 600 and over 2,000 scored above 450.

Performance at Centres Under Scrutiny

The performance at centres under scrutiny was notably lower. For example, Oasis School in Hazaribagh had only five out of 701 candidates scoring in the top one per cent. Similarly, Hardayal Public School in Jhajjar saw no candidate scoring above 682 in revised results after six aspirants initially scored full marks.

In Godhra’s Jay Jalaram International School, none of the 1,836 candidates scored above 700 marks; only seven scored above 650 marks. The principal of Oasis School has been arrested in connection with the alleged paper leak. The NTA maintains that the leak was localised and those involved have been identified and debarred.

Overall Performance Statistics

Nationwide, there are 30,204 students who scored above 650 marks—1.3 per cent of the total candidates. Over 79,500 candidates scored above 600 marks. These high scorers would likely rank in the top 30,000 and have a chance at seats in government medical colleges. From Sikar alone, examinees could claim around 2,037 seats.

At Haryana’s Model School centre in Rohtak, 45 candidates scored more than 600 marks. In Lucknow’s SDSN Mahavidyalaya centre, more than 45 candidates also scored above this mark. In Patna’s AN College centre, 29 students scored above 650 while at Holy Mission Secondary School, two secured over 700 marks.

The Supreme Court ordered a retest following allegations of inflated scores due to grace marks being awarded. The court will resume hearing arguments on July 22 regarding pleas for cancellation or re-test and a court-monitored probe into the alleged malpractice.

The results from May 5 were initially announced on June 4 but were later published in this centre-wise format following the Supreme Court's order. The NTA has consistently stated that there is no need to cancel the test as those who benefited from the leak have been debarred.

The revised scores show that only a small percentage of candidates from centres under scrutiny managed to score well. For instance, at Oasis School in Hazaribagh, less than one per cent scored above 650 marks compared to St Xavier's School in the same city where slightly over two per cent achieved this score.