2021 NEET UG Physics Paper Error: Retired lecturer writes open letter to PM Modi against NTA

KOTA: Claiming that a Physics question, 'wrongly translated' to Hindi, in NEET-UG 2021 has put the future of thousands of students at stake, a retired lecturer has written an open letter against the National Testing Agency (NTA).

In the letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, retired Physics lecturer Ajith Singh Banthia alleged that the NTA has meted out injustice to Hindi medium aspirants by incorrectly framing the question on 'alternating current'. While the English version of the question specified the words 'amplitude of current', the Hindi version had it framed only as 'dhara' (current) and dropped the word 'amplitude'. This prompted the students to solve it by considering the standard value as 'root mean square value of current', Banthia said. Meanwhile, Hindi language aspirants in Kota have formed NEET (UG) 2021 Hindi Madhyam Pariksharthi Sangarsh Morcha demanding ratification of the Hindi version of the question.

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According to the students, the error would cost them five marks, which would play a crucial role in an examination with such cut-throat competition. They claimed that around 2 lakh Hindi language aspirants would suffer due to the inappropriately framed question and many of them would miss out on admissions in government colleges. The examination was held on September 9. Following the release of the Optical Mark Recognition sheet last month, the students had complained to the NTA and sought correction in the answer key. However, the agency did not entertain it. Though the students filed a petition in the Supreme Court, they said the apex court dismissed the case on November 30 on the basis of a "fraudulent affidavit" by the NTA.

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Several teachers of Physics in coaching centres of Kota alleged that the 'facts' produced by NTA's joint director Binod Kumar Sahu in the affidavit were against the standard texts such as NCERT (Page no. 236,251,264) and Concepts of Physics by H.C. Verma (Vol-II, Page no. 318). Verma is a retired Physics professor from IIT Kanpur and a Padma Shri awardee for his contribution to the subject. "The question in Hindi and English version mean different things and hence they should have different answers. Interestingly, this question was translated in several other languages but only in Hindi version of the question the word 'amplitude' was dropped. I totally agree with the demands of the students and stand with them for justice," Brajesh Maheshwari, a Physics expert at a popular coaching institute in Kota, said.