'Spread of NEET-UG top-scorers shows non-traditional tuition hubs doing well'

NEW DELHI: In a notable shift in NEET-UG performance trends, more than 2,300 candidates who have scored above 700 out of 720 are spread across 1,404 centres and many of them are from non-traditional tuition hubs, according to sources.

The medical entrance exam this year saw a record 23.33 lakh students appearing, with 2,321 of them achieving scores of 700 or above. These high scorers were distributed across 1,404 centres in 276 cities spanning 25 states and Union Territories, apart from some international centres.

Comparatively, the NEET 2023 had a more concentrated spread of top scorers. Candidates scoring between 700 to 720 were distributed across 116 cities and 310 centres, those scoring between 650 to 699 were spread across 381 cities and 2,431 centres, and scores between 600 to 649 were seen in 464 cities and 3,434 centres.

"It is true that many students appearing from traditional tuition hubs like Sikar, Kota and Kottayam were able to score 700 or more. However, the silver lining is that many students appearing from other cities were also able to come within this bracket. It appears that aligning the syllabus of NEET with that of higher secondary has started to bear fruits," official sources said.

For instance, 35 students appearing from Lucknow, 27 students appearing from Kolkata, 25 from Latur, 20 from Nagpur, 19 from Faridabad, 18 from Nanded, 17 from Indore, 16 each from Cuttack and Kanpur, 14 each from Kolhapur, Noida, Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, 13 each from Agra and Aligarh, 10 each from Akola and Patiala, eight from Davangere, seven from Banaskantha, have scored 700 or more.

The distribution of scores further exemplifies this trend. Candidates scoring between 650 to 699 were spread across 509 cities and 4,044 centres, while those between 600 to 649 were distributed across 540 cities and 4,484 centres. Similarly, candidates scoring between 550 to 599 were in 548 cities and 4,563 centres.

A rank-wise analysis of NEET 2024 results shows a widespread distribution of top rankers.

For example, the cohort of ranks 1 to 100 comes from 95 centres in 56 cities, while the subsequent range of 101 to 1,000 are from 706 centres in 187 cities. Similarly, ranks 1,001 to 10,000 are distributed across 431 cities and 2,959 centres and ranks 10,001 to 50,000 are from 523 cities and 4,283 centres.

Data showed similar distribution for ranks 50,001 to 110,000 (546 cities and 4,542 centres, and ranks 110,001 to 150,000 (539 cities, 4,470 centres).

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Saturday released city- and centre-wise results of medical entrance exam NEET-UG which is under the scanner over alleged irregularities including paper leak.

An analysis of data indicated that while the candidates who allegedly benefitted from the paper leak and other irregularities have not done well, some centres have a high concentration of well-performing students.

Over 2,000 NEET-UG candidates from centres in Rajasthan's Sikar scored above 650 while over 4,000 have scored more than 600.

The voluminous result data of over 32 lakh candidates from 4,750 centres was not released in a cumulative format but in a drop-down menu for each centre. The data was released on the direction of the Supreme Court which is hearing several petitions over the alleged irregularities as lakhs of aspirants await a final verdict on fate of the exam.