Govt must take serious steps to correct 'irregularities': Priyanka on NEET row

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday attacked the Centre over the NEET-UG medical entrance row and said the government will have to take "serious steps" to correct "irregularities" in examinations.

Amid allegations of inflation of marks in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam, the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced on Saturday that the education ministry has set up a four-member panel to review the grace marks awarded to more than 1,500 candidates. In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "Lakhs of children prepare hard for exams like NEET and spend the most precious moments of their lives preparing for it. The whole family puts their faith and strength in this effort. But year after year, paper leaks and irregularities related to results have been reported in these exams.

"Shouldn't the accountability of the agencies conducting the exams be fixed, she asked. "Shouldn't the government give up its careless attitude and seriously focus on the exam system? We cannot see the dreams of our young friends being shattered like this. This injustice by the system to their hard work must stop," Priyanka Gandhi said. The government will have to take serious steps to correct these "irregularities", she said.

The NTA has denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres were some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks. The issue has taken a political turn, with several parties raising questions about the integrity and fairness of the examination process. The Congress on Friday demanded a high-level investigation under the Supreme Court's supervision into "irregularities" in the NEET entrance exam for medical courses and accused the BJP of cheating youngsters and playing with their futures.