NEET UG 2023 Results: Explaining the Occurrence of Joint Toppers
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Srishti Kathuria
- Updated: June 14, 2023
- IST: 10:24 am
In a repeat of last year, the NEET UG 2023 results have once again produced joint toppers. The National Testing Agency (NTA) was questioned regarding this phenomenon, and their response shed light on the reasons behind it.
This year, two candidates, Prabhanjan J from Villupuram, Tamil Nadu, and Bora Varun Chakravarthi from Andhra Pradesh, have secured an identical top score in the NEET-UG exam. It is worth noting that last year, despite four candidates achieving the same percentile score of 99.9997733, they were each assigned unique ranks. So, what has caused the NTA to declare joint toppers this time around?
The answer lies in the tie-breaking rule implemented by the NTA. This year, the agency made adjustments to the formula used in the previous year. In 2022, the NTA used nine factors to assign unique ranks to candidates with equal marks or percentile scores. However, for this year’s results, two factors were excluded from the formula:
- Candidates’ higher marks/percentiles in Biology (Botany and Zoology)
- The candidate with the highest mark/percentile in Chemistry
- The candidate with the highest marks/percentile score in Physics
- Candidates with fewer incorrect answers than correct answers in all subjects
- A candidate with the lowest proportion of incorrect responses to correct responses in Biology (Botany and Zoology)
- Candidate with the lowest ratio of incorrect answers to correct answers in Chemistry
- The candidate with a lower percentage of attempted incorrect answers and correct answers in Physics
- Candidate older in age
- NEET application number in ascending order
This year, the NTA omitted factors (h) and (i), which considered the candidate’s age and application number, respectively. In other words, the age and application number were no longer taken into account when determining different ranks for candidates with equal or perfect scores. Points (a) to (g) of the formula were deemed sufficient to break ties for all candidates, except for Prabhanjan J and Bora Varun Chakravarthi.
An NTA official explained, “Since both candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks with no incorrect answers, it was impossible to break the tie between them using points (a) to (g) of the formula. As a result, only these two candidates shared the top rank, having attained a perfect score.”
When asked about the exclusion of the candidate’s age and application number from the tie-breaking mechanism, the NTA official clarified, “The formula we used ensured that a unique rank could be assigned to all candidates except for these two. This approach would not have caused admission-related issues. Thus, the result committee, comprising representatives from the health ministry, decided to declare the two candidates as joint toppers.”
Last year, the NTA introduced a nine-point tie-breaking formula to avoid the situation that occurred in 2021 when the top three candidates were still tied despite the existing criteria. However, this year, the NTA decided to drop the age and application number from the formula.
The NTA official emphasized that having joint rank holders is not an ideal scenario, especially in the context of medical colleges with limited seats. Hence, in 2022, the NTA implemented the nine-point formula. However, for this year’s results, age and application number were no longer considered in the tie-breaking process.
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Srishti Kathuria
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