Amid NEET row, Centre cancels UGC-NET exam, says ‘integrity may have been compromised’
This comes a time when the National Testing Agency (NTA) is under fire over the alleged irregularities in this year’s National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exams.
The Ministry of Education on Wednesday announced the cancellation of UGC-NET examination following prima facie indications that the integrity of the exam may have been compromised.
As per an official statement by the Ministry of Education, the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination in OMR (pen and paper) mode on 18 June, 2024 in two shifts across different cities of the country. On 19 June, 2024, the University Grants Commission (UGC) received certain inputs from National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs on the Examination. These inputs prima-facie indicate that the integrity of the aforesaid examination may have been compromised.
To ensure the highest level of transparency and sanctity of the examination process, the ministry said it has decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination be cancelled.
Fresh examination will be conducted, about which information will be shared separately, it said. The matter is being handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for thorough probe, the ministry added.
The UGC-NET is being conducted by the NTA in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode since December 2018. Prior to this, the exam was conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).
The exam — conducted twice every year (June & December) — determines the eligibility for ‘Assistant Professor’ as well as ‘Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor’ in Indian institutes.
The cancellation of UGC-NET examination comes at a time when the NTA is under fire over the alleged irregularities in this year’s National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exams.
Announced on June 4, the NEET-UG results drew immediate attention after 67 candidates got the perfect score of 720/720 and some candidates got 718 or 719 — marks others claimed were not possible in the scheme of the exam. The NTA attributed this to a combination of factors including a relatively easier paper, the decision to award additional marks to students who lost time during the exam because of errors and delays on the part of NTA staff and invigilators, and an incorrect question.
While the NTA has decided to withdraw grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates who were first compensated for lost time and conduct their retest, the government has been denying allegations of paper leak and irregularities in Bihar and Godhra. However, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has told reporters that if any such allegation is found true, the culprits will not be spared. (The Indian Express)
