Akanksha Singh of Delhi and Soyeb Aftab of Odisha both scored an unprecedented 100% score in the NEET examination, with Mr. Aftab snagging the All India number one ranking, according to the tie-breaking policy, as he is the older student. This is the first time a perfect score has been achieved in NEET, according to the National Testing Agency which conducts the examination.
They topped the list of the more than 7.7 lakh students who qualified for medical and dental counselling in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), this year. With the COVID-19 pandemic causing disruptions and delays, only 13.6 lakh students attempted the examination this year, despite being given two chances to do so. This is lower than last year’s 14.1 lakh candidates, although this year’s original registrations were actually higher.
Cut-offs were higher across the board, with general category students facing a cut-off score of 147, higher than last year’s 134. For general category students from economically weaker sections, the cut-off is 129, while all other reserved categories students had a cut-off of 113.
Among states, the highest qualifying percentages were in Chandigarh and Delhi ( both above 75%) and Haryana (almost 73%).
Tamil Nadu continued to see significant improvements in performance, with a qualifying percentage of more than 57%. This is a leap from 48.6% last year and a huge spike from 2018, when it had one of the lowest qualifying percentages of 39.6%. Although the Tamil Nadu government has strongly opposed the introduction of NEET and fought a long, losing battle against it in court, it had also run free special coaching classes to help state board students meet the exam’s standards.
Andhra Pradesh, on the other hand, saw its qualifying rates drop from almost 71% last year to less than 59% this year.
There were four women in the top ten all India ranking list, but only 13 in the top 50. Although male candidates continued to dominate the top rankings, almost 4.3 lakh women qualified for counselling, in comparison to 3.4 lakh men.
This is the first time that admissions to MBBS courses in elite institutions such as AIIMS and JIPMER will also be made through NEET, following an amendment in the National Medical Commission Act last year.
Due to COVID-19, the examination that was originally supposed to be held in May was postponed to September. As students who tested positive for COVID or lived in containment zones were not allowed to write the examination then, they were given another chance in October. Masks, sanitisers and social distancing were compulsory elements of the examination experience for this year’s medical aspirants.
NEET results are now available at ntaresults.nic.in.