Out of the 67 candidates achieving a perfect score (720/720) in the 2024 NEET-UG results, as announced by the NTA on Tuesday, a surprising 44 secured top positions due to an unexpected reason: they received “grace marks” after answering a fundamental physics question incorrectly.
The root cause lies in their reliance on an erroneous reference within their old Class 12 NCERT science textbook.
Since 2019, the number of NEET UG toppers has not exceeded three in any given year. NEET UG serves as the sole gateway for admission to all MBBS programs across the nation. In 2019 and 2020, there was one topper each. In 2021, there were three, followed by one in 2022 and two in the previous year.
However, this year, a multiple-choice Physics question on atoms opened the floodgates for high scores.
The question was based on two statements. The first said: “Atoms are electrically neutral as they contain equal numbers of positive and negative charges.” The second statement said: “Atoms of each element are stable and emit their characteristic spectrum.”
Candidates were asked to choose the “most appropriate answer” from four options:
One: First is correct but second is incorrect; Two: first is incorrect but second is correct; Three: both first and second statements are correct; Four: both statements are incorrect.
The correct answer is Option 1 since the first statement is correct and the second is not since atoms of radioactive elements are not stable.
On May 29, NTA released its provisional answer key which showed that Option 1 is correct.
However, more than 10,000 candidates challenged the answer key on the grounds that an old version of the Class 12 NCERT textbook inaccurately states, “Atoms of each element are stable.” The correct answer is that atoms of “most” elements are stable, as stated in the new version of the NCERT Chemistry textbook.
“Since we strongly recommend all aspirants study only from NCERT textbooks for their NEET preparation, we decided to give credit to all those candidates who marked the third option (of the multiple-choice question) as the answer. The third option stated that both statements 1 and 2 are correct,” said an NTA official.
This decision saw 44 candidates have their scores boosted from 715 to a perfect 720, making them among the unprecedented number of NEET-UG toppers this year.
“In India, for ages, older siblings have been passing on their books to their younger siblings, and there is no harm in it; we have all done it. The NTA cannot ask students to specially buy new books too as it may not be viable for everyone. So, we will hold a meeting and establish proper protocols for such a situation,” another NTA official said when asked why the agency decided to award grace marks for an incorrect answer.
NTA hasn’t flagged the discrepancy between the old and new version of the Class 12 textbook to NCERT. “We will notify the NCERT now for future reference, but nothing can be done by NCERT for this year’s NEET exam,” the senior official added.
“However, the NTA official clarified that although 67 students have been awarded the first rank, it does not guarantee admission to AIIMS for all of them. The NTA employs a tie-breaker policy, wherein each student securing AIR 1 will have their actual position determined on the merit list according to this policy. This detail is explicitly mentioned on each student’s scorecard,” the official explained.
When queried whether this was the sole reason behind the record number of NEET UG toppers this year, the official clarified that while it played a significant role, other factors also contributed. “The fact that the paper was relatively easier this year and there was a substantial increase in the number of registrations were also influential,” they stated.
This year, there was a record registration of 23.81 lakh students for NEET UG, marking an increase from last year’s 20.87 lakh registrations. According to data provided by the NTA, a total of 9.96 lakh boys, 13.32 lakh girls, and 17 transgender candidates appeared for the exam.
Among the 67 candidates who scored a perfect 720, the majority hail from Rajasthan (11), followed by Tamil Nadu (8), Maharashtra (7), and then four each from Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.