Understanding the Riddle of the NEET Toppers: Soyeb Aftab vs. Akansha Singh

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is a critical step for aspiring medical students in India. This year, the most intriguing narrative of the NEET 2020 results centered around the topper status, which was declared to Soyeb Aftab rather than Akansha Singh, who also scored 720 out of 720. This article delves into the details of how the NEET ranking system works, highlighting the role of percentile, tie-breaking policies, and candidate seniority.

Understanding Percentile in NEET

In the NEET exam, the ranking is not determined solely by the raw score. The National Testing Agency (NTA) employs a normalization process to ensure a fair and equitable ranking system. This process takes into account the relative performance of all candidates in a given exam session. The system calculates a percentile, which indicates how well a candidate performed compared to the entire batch of test-takers.

For instance, if Soyeb Aftab and Akansha Singh both scored 720/720, but the data shows that Soyeb performed better than a larger percentage of candidates, he would be awarded a higher percentile. This higher percentile resulted in Soyeb being declared the topper. Typically, this involves evaluating the number of candidates who scored lower than or equal to each candidate's score, which is then converted into a percentile.

Normalization Process and Its Impact

The NTA utilizes a normalization process to accommodate variations in the difficulty level of the NEET exam across different sessions. This means that the performance of each candidate is compared against a standard curve, which is based on the collective performance of all students in the same exam session. Therefore, it's possible for two candidates to score the same marks but have different ranks due to their relative performance.

Tie-Breaking Policy and Its Implementation

When candidates score the same marks, the NTA has a tie-breaking policy in place to determine the final ranking. In the case of Soyeb Aftab and Akansha Singh, the tie-breaking rules were crucial:

Candidates with more marks in Biology will rank higher. Candidates with more marks in Chemistry will rank higher. Candidates with more marks in Physics will rank higher. Older candidates will rank higher.

While all three conditions based on subject marks were equal for both candidates, Soyeb Aftab's seniority made the difference. Since Soyeb is an older candidate and a repeater, he was declared the AIR 1. This decision was made based on the NTA's criteria for breaking a tie when the marks across the three subjects are identical.

Conclusion

The NEET topper controversy between Soyeb Aftab and Akansha Singh is a clear illustration of how the complex ranking system used by the National Testing Agency works. It underscores the importance of percentile scores, normalization, and the significance of a candidate's seniority. The NEET is not just a score-based criterion but a comprehensive evaluation that takes into account relative performance and various other metrics.

Keywords: NEET topper, percentile ranking, tie-breaking policy, normalization process