The Supreme Court on Thursday issued directives pertaining to the publishing of raw scores, answer keys and normalisation formulae of NEET-PG examinations. The order was issued by a bench including Justice JB Pardiwala and J R Mahadevan to facilitate transparency during the counselling process while also curtailing the malpractice of seat-blocking.
What does this mean?
The normalisation formula is employed to calculate the merit list and decide the rankings for the exam. Under this system, the same exam that takes place on different dates provides a different set of questions. In their bid to nullify the effect of tougher or easier question papers, the normalisation formula is applied in calculating the scores, thereby leveling the playing field.
The apex court issued the orders stating that, 바카라œPublish raw scores, answer keys and normalization formulae for transparency in multi-shift NEET-PG exams."
The judgement was delivered in response to a plea filed by the State of Uttar Pradesh and the Director General of Medical Education & Training, challenging a 2018 Allahabad High Court order.
What else did the court say?
The SC also said that blocking of seats during counselling for this particular examination hinders the merit based selections and also puts higher-ranked candidates at a disadvantage.
Seat sharing a strategy used by candidates where they block seats at several institutions and later choose their most preferred option. This contingency plan vacates seats at a time when higher ranked candidates have already taken admission elsewhere and leads to lower ranked candidates securing the vacated seat.
The court issued several directives including, (i) implement a Nationally synchronized counselling calendar to align AIQ (All India Quota) and State rounds and prevent seat blocking across systems (ii) mandate Pre-Counselling Fee Disclosure by all private / deemed universities, detailing tuition, hostel, caution deposit, and miscellaneous charges (iii) establish a Centralized Fee Regulation Framework under the National Medical Commission (iv) permit upgrade windows post-round 2 for admitted candidates to shift to better seats without reopening counselling to new entrants and (v) publish raw scores, answer keys and normalization formulae for transparency in multi-shift NEET-PG exams.
In addition, the court also ordered to (vi) enforce strict penalties for seat blocking including forfeiture of security deposit, disqualification from future NEET-PG exams (for repeat offenders), blacklisting of complicit colleges (vii) implement Aadhaar-based seat tracking to prevent multiple seat holdings and misrepresentation (viii) hold state authorities and institutional DMEs accountable under contempt or disciplinary action for rule or schedule violations (ix) Adopt a Uniform Counselling Conduct Code across all States for standard rules on eligibility, mop-up rounds, seat withdrawal, and grievance timelines and (x) set up a third-party oversight mechanism under NMC for annual audits of counselling data, compliance, and admission fairness.
