The NTA released the NEET-UG result 2024 data on the directions of the Supreme Court which is hearing several petitions regarding alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam.

NEET-UG Result 2024: More than 11,000 candidates have scored zero or negative marks in this year's controversial NEET-UG medical entrance exam, central results released by the National Testing Agency (NTA) revealed.

According to an analysis of the city- and centre-wise results released by the NTA on Saturday, over 2,250 candidates got zero marks, while over 9,400 candidates got negative marks, with a candidate from one center in Bihar scoring dubious marks. Lowest score by any candidate, scoring -180 in NEET-UG exam.

The NTA results also revealed that many candidates from centers under scanner in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand scored less than zero marks, while many candidates from some centers scored zero marks.

However, no clusters were visible as the number of such candidates at each center was small, the NTA data revealed.

What is 'Zero', 'Negative Marks'?

Explaining what it means if a candidate gets zero or negative marks in the exam, officials said it means either the answer sheets were blank or the questions were not attempted.

“It is possible that the candidate attempted to get some questions right and some questions wrong which led to negative marking. In NEET-UG, for each correct answer, four marks are given and for each wrong answer, one mark is deducted. No marks are awarded or deducted for unattempted questions,” he said.

On Saturday, the NTA declared the city- and centre-wise results of the medical entrance examination which is under scanner due to alleged irregularities and paper leaks.

Candidates who benefited from the 'irregularity' did not perform well

An analysis of the data showed that candidates who allegedly benefited from paper leaks and other irregularities did not perform well, while some centers had a high proportion of students who performed well.

More than 2,000 NEET-UG candidates from Sikar Center have scored more than 650 marks while more than 4,000 candidates have scored more than 600 marks.

The huge result data of over 23 lakh candidates from 4,750 centers was not released in a consolidated form but in a drop-down menu for each centre.

NTA releases massive result data as directed by SC

The NTA released the data on the directions of the Supreme Court which is hearing several petitions over alleged irregularities as lakhs of aspirants await a final verdict on the fate of the exam.

The Supreme Court is hearing several petitions on May 5 regarding alleged irregularities in the conduct of the test at 4,750 centers in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad.

The Supreme Court had ordered the announcement of the results by concealing the identity of the candidates. It said it wanted to check whether candidates who appeared at allegedly tainted centers scored higher than those who wrote the exam elsewhere.

The court will resume arguments in the case on July 22 on petitions seeking quashing, re-examination and court-supervised inquiry into allegations of malpractice in the prestigious examination.

(with PTI input)