Student groups on Monday protested in at least three capitals across India against the alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET).

In Delhi, Leftist student groups protested outside the offices of the Union ministry of education at Shastri Bhawan.

Allegations of irregularities and paper leaks have drawn the attention of the Opposition with Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge demanding a Supreme Court-monitored probe.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has, however, denied any paper was leaked and has
attributed six of the 67 full scores of 720 and the scores of 718 and 719 to extra marks awarded by a grievance redressal committee for lost exam time to 1,563 candidates at six centres.

Around 13 lakh candidates have qualified for around 1 lakh MBBS seats in government and private colleges across India.

In a memorandum to the ministry, the CPM-backed SFI demanded an inquiry into “the scam and misconduct of NEET 2024”, scrapping the NTA, ending the centralisation of examinations and revoking decisions such as compulsory NET/JRF scores for PhD entrance examinations.

There were also protests in Hyderabad and Dehradun on Monday.

Sooraj Elamon, the joint secretary of SFI Delhi, said: “Even in the recent CUET (Common University Entrance Test), students had to suffer because of various discrepancies that happened at the examination centres and no adequate actions were taken from their side. The NTA has proved to be an incompetent body that can’t ensure free and fair examinations.”

CPIML-Liberation’s All India Students’ Association demanded that this year’s NEET be conducted again.

AISA Delhi state secretary Neha Bora said: “In the last seven years, there have been more than 70 scams, discrepancies and leaks by the NTA. The ministry has given a free hand to conduct almost every single test in the country and this has turned into a catastrophe for the youths.”

The RSS-backed ABVP protested near the NTA office in Okhla demanding a CBI probe. Its national secretary Shivangi Kharwal said: “The fact that 67 students secured first rank with seven from the same centre cannot be a coincidence. This indicates that the institution is somehow operating with corruption.”