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| - Fact Check: Kerala coaching centre ad viral with FALSE communal spin on NEET scam
India Today Fact Check found that this is an advertisement for a coaching centre in Kottakkal, Kerala, featuring students who achieved high scores in NEET.
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India Today Fact Check
This is an advertisement published in Mathrubhumi Daily for an entrance coaching centre in Kerala. There is no link as of yet between these students and the NEET scandal.
Even as the Central Bureau of Investigation arrested an alleged conspirator in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) paper leak case, many online are attempting to communalise the national scandal, claiming that the leak’s beneficiaries were primarily Muslims.
A Facebook user shared a photo of a newspaper ad featuring an array of photos of students and their scores, and wrote: "The above photos are NEET ENTRANCE QUESTION PAPER LEAK BENEFICIARIES, JUST LOOK N GUESS WHO N WHICH RELIGION THER ARE? All Muslims only." Its archive can be seen here.
India Today Fact Check found that this photo was an advertisement for a coaching centre in Kottakkal, Kerala, several of whose students achieved high scores in NEET. There is, as of yet, no apparent link between these students and the NEET paper leak. Nor is there any evidence to suggest Muslim students in particular benefited from the leak.
OUR PROBE
This viral image appears to be from a Malayalam daily newspaper. We conducted a keyword search on Google about the “Environment Day celebrations” news item, partially visible in the viral photo. We found a report with a similar headline in the online edition of Mathrubhumi Daily.
We then checked Mathrubhumi’s e-paper from the same date and found the full advertisement.
The ad contained the headline “Kottakkal Universal Institute NEET Result 2024” and showcased photos of students who achieved high scores in exams. It's evident from the pictures that the group includes not just Muslim students but also students from other communities.
We contacted the authorities at Universal Institute in Kottakkal for further clarification. They stated that the information circulating on social media was entirely false. "The viral picture is an advertisement for Universal Institute published in Mathrubhumi daily. The ad features students from our institution who achieved the highest scores this year. Among them are students from different communities. Kottakkal has a Muslim majority, so most of the students here are Muslims. The propaganda with communal undertones is unfortunate," Dr Hameed, the institute's principal, told India Today Fact Check.
Universal Institute also shared pictures of students who scored high in the NEET exam on its Facebook page.
Moreover, Kerala has not yet reported any cases of NEET irregularities. Bihar, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra are among the states that have registered NEET paper leak cases.
Thus, it is clear that an advertisement published in Mathrubhumi Daily for an entrance coaching centre in Kerala has been shared online to give a communal spin to the NEET paper leak scandal.
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