Mumbai, June 13: In the ongoing controversy over the NEET UG 2024 exam results, the National Testing Agency (NTA) today, June 13, told the Supreme Court that the score-cards of 1,563 candidates who got "grace marks" in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exam will be cancelled. The NTA also informed the top court that the candidates who got grace marks will have a chance to reappear for the NEET UG examination re-test.

NTA further stated that NEET UG 2024 re-exam will be conducted on June 23, with the examination result being declared before June 30. The Centre also informed the apex court that the counselling for admission in the MBBS, BDS, and other courses will start on July 6. While the date for the re-test has been announced, candidates out of the 1,563 who do not want to appear for the re-test will get earlier marks, excluding the grace marks, with their marks being sent for the results. NEET UG 2024 Result: Scorecards of 1,563 Candidates With Grace Marks To Be Cancelled, Centre to Give Re-Test Option to Them.

Let's understand a few questions surrounding grace marks.

What Are Grace Marks in NEET?

During the hearing of the case in the Supreme Court, the NTA told the bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta that 1,563 candidates were awarded "grace marks" to compensate for the loss of time they suffered while appearing for the NEET-UG examination. In simple terms, grace marks are additional marks awarded to students to compensate them for the time they lost during NEET exam day for several reasons, including irregularities.

A total of 1,563 candidates received grace marks, resulting in 67 students sharing the top rank in the NEET UG examination and two candidates getting scores of 718 and 719, respectively.

How Much Grace Marks Are Given in NEET 2024?

According to reports, 70 to 80 marks were allegedly awarded to over 1,500 candidates as grace marks. As per the exam marking scheme, four marks are awarded for each correct answer, while one mark is deducted for each incorrect answer. NEET UG 2024 Result: Scorecards of 1,563 Candidates With Grace Marks Cancelled, Re-Exam on June 23, NTA Tells Supreme Court.

Why Did NTA Give Grace Marks?

The NTA stated that only candidates who raised concerns about time loss during the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG 2024) exam were awarded grace marks. Besides, grace marks were also awarded for a physics question, which reportedly had two correct answers.

Meanwhile, the NTA accepted before the Supreme Court that the grace marks given to the students were wrong and that the same created dissatisfaction among them.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 13, 2024 02:15 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).