Neet exam row | Students rank high in second attempt as they appear from 'obscure' centres: Report

Amid ongoing NEET exam row, a recent report by The Times of India showed that students who got lower ranks in their first attempt, got much better ranks in their second attempt.

Referring to it as the "second time lucky" trend, TOI report suggests that it is a thread where the students attempting for the second time had taken the exam from "obscure" centres or villages.

According to the publication, similar case was reported in Gujarat's Godhra this year where the students were told to fill the answers only to the question they were familiar with.

Godhra superintendent of police Himanshu Solanki told the publication that, "The empty answer sheets were to be filled in by the centres deputy superintendent during the half-hour gap the supervisors get to pack the papers. The answer key was to be provided by coaching institutes, which make the key available online after the exam."

Parent representative and counsellor Sudha Shenoy said that parents called her before filling the NEET (UG) application, as they were getting calls from 'agents' who asked for money and assured that their child would get 'high' rank. The 'agents' told them they would fill the form, and the centre will be far from the city. They asked for Rs 1 lakh in advance, and Rs 9 lakh after the results were out.

In a separate instance, a private university upon inspecting found out that some exam centres were 'compromised'.

An officer who has worked with Maharashtra admission process, told TOI that NEET exams should be conducted on computers. He also mentioned that the new provisions that are added in the post graduate test, that breaks down the exam in multiple timed sections, should be inculcated in UG test too.

The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Monday arrested a Zilla Parishad school headmaster from Latur in Maharashtra and detained a teacher after it emerged that at least four persons operated a racket to help NEET students willing to pay money to crack the exam.