International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research

E-ISSN: 2582-2160   •   Impact Factor: 9.24

A Widely Indexed Open Access Peer Reviewed Multidisciplinary Bi-monthly Scholarly International Journal

Call for Paper Volume 7, Issue 4 (July-August 2025) Submit your research before last 3 days of August to publish your research paper in the issue of July-August.
Submit Research Paper Join as a Reviewer

Plagiarism is checked by the leading plagiarism checker TurnItIn

Call for Paper

Volume 7 Issue 4
July-August 2025

Submit your research paper

Indexing Partners
Academia Advanced Sciences Index Bielefeld Academic Search Engine CiteSeer DRJI Google Scholar Independent Search Engine & Directory Network ISI (International Scientific Indexing) Issuu Mendeley Research Networks
RefSeek ResearcherId - Thomson Reuters ResearchGate Scirus Scribd Semantic Scholar UTeM - Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka Wiki for Call for Papers WorldCat Zenodo

Coverage of NEET(UG)-2024 in Select Newspapers and Digital Media: A Content Analysis

Author(s) Mr. Sravan Kumar Yoddi, Mr. Srikanth Bhargava R
Country India
Abstract By 2030, India is projected to have a population of 140 million students prepared for enrollment in universities for higher education, according to the UK India Business Council's report titled “Beyond the Top 200 – Effective International Collaboration for Indian Higher Education” (TOI, 12 Oct 2022). The undergraduate medical education sector in India exhibits a significant demand-supply disparity that necessitates sustained focus. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET(UG)) serves as the sole criterion for the selection of students into Medical, Dental, and allied sciences following the completion of the All-India Senior School Certificate Examination, often referred to as the Class 12th board examinations.

The NEET(UG) test is administered by the National Testing Agency (NTA), an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Education, Government of India. Successfully passing the NEET(UG) examination is essential for studying undergraduate programs in India, such as MBBS, BDS, and Ayush (alternative medicine) disciplines. The Indian government has mandated that all those seeking to pursue a medical education must pass the NEET(UG) examination. NEET(UG) is the exclusive national undergraduate medical entrance examination that governs admissions to various institutions in India. These comprise around 542 medical colleges, 313 dentistry colleges, 914 AYUSH institutes, and 47 colleges for Veterinary Sciences (BVSc and AH). NEET(UG) has being administered from 2013. Since 2019, NEET(UG) has been the sole method of selection for students seeking to undertake medical education in India. The NTA administers these examinations in a pen-and-paper format. The examination is offered in multiple Indian languages.

The NEET(UG) examination garners annual attention, not alone for admission-related matters but also for the debates it incites. A significant scandal that surrounded NTA and garnered media attention transpired in 2024. The NTA faced significant criticism, negative media coverage, mockery, and legal challenges due to its mismanagement of the NEET(UG)-2024 examinations. The NTA faced severe criticism for its conduct, allocation of marks, declassification of results, significant discrepancies in scores compared to previous years, and nearly every other facet of its operations.

The NEET(UG)-2024 examination was conducted on May 5, 2024. Shortly after the examinations had place, allegations of paper leaks emerged. The exam results were announced significantly earlier than the scheduled date amid contentious circumstances. Significant discrepancies were observed in the distribution of ranks and associated marks relative to the results of the preceding year. These events provoked ire from both parents and students. The results were announced concurrently with the Lok Sabha elections, resulting in insufficient media coverage. This presented social media platforms and influencers with a good opportunity to occupy the gap. For a short duration, social media and digital news platforms emerged as the primary news source for NEET(UG)-2024. Limited cable television stations allocated airtime for NEET(UG) examination results. The news was not thoroughly reported by print media. After the fervor surrounding the elections diminished, coverage of the NEET(UG) dispute received attention in both broadcast and print media.

From a media studies standpoint, NEET(UG)-2024 offers an opportunity to examine the portrayal of this debate by print and digital media. It provides insight into the perspective of social media and social media influencers in disseminating news and opinions. Exams, as an emotionally charged topic, impact kids and their anxious parents, while the credibility of the news source, the comprehensiveness of news coverage, the rapidity of news dissemination, and social media discourse contribute to the complexity of the news content. Qualitative content analysis and quantitative methodologies have been employed to underscore the increasing impact of social media and influencers in the domain of news and current events.
Keywords NEET(UG) – 2024, Newspapers, Digital Media, National Entrance Exams
Field Sociology > Journalism / Media
Published In Volume 7, Issue 4, July-August 2025
Published On 2025-07-07
DOI https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i04.50496
Short DOI https://doi.org/g9s9jb
View / Download PDF File

Share this



E-ISSN 2582-2160
CrossRef

CrossRef DOI is assigned to each research paper published in our journal.

IJFMR DOI prefix is
10.36948/ijfmr

Downloads
Research Paper Format Copyright Permission Form and Undertaking Form Cover Page Vol 7 Isu 4Cover Page Vol 7 Isu 3Cover Page Vol 7 Isu 2

All research papers published on this website are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, and all rights belong to their respective authors/researchers.

CC-BY-SA Open Access

About IJFMR
Fees & Payment
Current Issue
Publication Archive 		Submit Research Paper
Track Submission Status
Publication Guidelines
Publication Ethics
Peer Review & Plagiarism 		Join as a Reviewer
Editors & Reviewers
Reviewer Referral Program
Get Reviewer Membership Certi. 		Website/Journal Policies
Usage Policy
Content Policies
Privacy Policy
Contact Us +91-9687-828-838 editor@ijfmr.com