NEW DELHI: Reports suggesting that only coaching factories in Rajasthan (Kota and Sikar) or specialized coaching centers in Kerala and Gujarat excelled in the NEET UG scores declared on Saturday are only partially true. While traditional centers like Sikar and Kota continued to produce high scorers, a significant number of top performers emerged from other smaller cities and towns.
For instance, 35 students from Lucknow, 27 from Kolkata, 25 from Latur, 20 from Nagpur, 19 from Faridabad, 18 from Nanded, 17 from Indore, 16 each from Cuttack and Kanpur, 14 each from Kolhapur, Noida, and Sahibzada Ajit Singh Nagar, 13 each from Agra and Aligarh, 10 each from Akola and Patiala, eight from Davangere, and seven from Banaskantha scored 700 or more marks. This trend suggests that aligning the NEET syllabus with higher secondary education is yielding positive results, according to the Ministry of Education.
The other myth that high scorers were limited to a few cities or states was also debunked.
In NEET 2024, a total of 23.33 lakh students appeared, with 2,321 students scoring 700 or more marks. These high achievers were spread across 1,404 centers, both within the country and abroad. These centers were distributed across 276 cities and 25 States/UTs, indicating that many candidates from non-traditional tuition hubs made it to the toppers' list.
Similar observations were made across other score ranges in NEET 2024.Candidates scoring between 650 and 699 marks were spread across 509 cities and 4,044 centers, those scoring between 600 and 649 marks were spread across 540 cities and 4,484 centers, and those scoring between 550 and 599 marks were spread across 548 cities and 4,563 centers, said the Ministry of Education.
A rank-wise distribution of NEET 2024 results revealed the following: candidates with ranks 1 to 100 were spread across 56 cities and 95 centers,those with ranks 101 to 1,000 were spread across 187 cities and 706 centers, those with ranks 1,001 to 10,000 were spread across 431 cities and 2,959 centers, those with ranks 10,001 to 50,000 were spread across 523 cities and 4,283 centers; those with ranks 50,001 to 1,10,000 were spread across 546 cities and 4,542 centres, and those with ranks 1,10,001 to 1,50,000 were spread across 539 cities and 4,470 centers.
In comparison, the distribution in NEET 2023 was somewhat smaller.
Candidates scoring between 700 and 720 marks were spread across 116 cities and 310 centers; those scoring between 650 and 699 marks were spread across 381 cities and 2,431 centres, and those scoring between 600 and 649 marks were spread across 464 cities and 3,434 centres.
The expanding geographical spread of high scorers in NEET 2024 indicates a more inclusive and widespread preparation landscape, suggesting that quality education and competitive readiness are reaching a broader spectrum of students across the country.
