NEET, UGC NET Protest Updates: Anti-paper leak law for exams comes into effect

Amid the continuing controversy around exams conducted by the NTA, Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas on Friday wrote to Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan raising concerns over the NEET and UGC-NET exams and alleging saffronisation of education under the BJP-led government.

In his letter to Pradhan, CPI(M) MP Brittas urged him to discontinue the centralised NEET, limiting its scope to central medical institutions like AIIMS, PGIMER and JIPMER. He also called for a comprehensive review of NET to restore the autonomy of the universities and uphold the academic standards and transparency.

He criticised the NEET and UGC-NET, highlighting issues such as question paper leaks, arbitrary awarding of grace marks and the "saffronisation" of examination content.

(PTI)

The Congress on Friday held protests across the country over alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET with Rahul Gandhi saying he will personally raise the issue in Parliament and the opposition will put pressure on the government to ensure justice for students.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that under the BJP's rule, the "education mafia" has a free hand to indulge in corruption.

"Seventy papers have been leaked in seven years and the future of two crore youth has been ruined. The NEET exam paper leak scam is a symbol of the Modi government's utter indifference towards the youth," he said.

The Congress held a protest across the country over the issue, Kharge said and asserted that his party would raise the voice of the youth strongly.

(PTI)

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday launched a scathing attack on the government over exam paper leaks, saying the issue has become a national problem under the BJP rule which has "ruined the future" of crores of youth.

The Congress general secretary's attack comes amid outcry against alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination NEET and also the cancellation of the UGC-NET examination on Wednesday a day after it was held, citing compromised integrity of the test.
In a post on X, Priyanka Gandhi said the Congress demands that strict action be taken over the "NEET scam" so that 24 lakh students get justice.

In another post in Hindi on X, she wrote, "In the last five years, papers of 43 recruitment exams have been leaked in the country. Paper leak has become a national problem of our country under BJP rule which has ruined the future of crores of youth so far." "India is the youngest country in the world. We have the largest youth population. Instead of making these youth skilled and capable, the BJP government is making them weak," she alleged.

Crores of talented students study hard day and night, prepare for different exams, parents bear the burden of studies by sacrificing everything, Priyanka Gandhi said.

(PTI)

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 which aims to prevent unfair means in public examinations and common entrance tests held across the country came into effect on Friday.

This comes amid the massive row over the alleged malpractices in conducting the NEET and UGC NET examinations. A gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions said, 'In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (1 of 2024), the central government hereby appoints the 21st day of June 2024, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force.' The Bill was passed by the two Houses of Parliament in the Budget session which concluded on February 10. It seeks to prevent the use of 'unfair means' in public examinations and bring 'greater transparency, fairness and credibility'.

(ANI)

Amidst irregularities surrounding the medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate 2024 (NEET-UG), CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said that National Testing Agency which conducts the NEET-UG examinations should be scrapped as crores of students who are future of India are suffering. He also called for the resignation of the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

"If he (Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan) is taking moral responsibility, we have heard in politics that people who take moral responsibility resign from their posts. But he is doing nothing of that sort... It is clear that papers are being leaked, they are being sold. This is a kind of commercialisation that is happening," Yechury told ANI.

(ANI)

Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad on Friday demanded the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG. Taking part in a protest organised here by her party over the issue, she also questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's `silence' on the students' plight.

"Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan should resign on moral grounds," said Gaikwad, who was elected to the Lok Sabha from Mumbai North Central constituency in the recently held elections.

(PTI)

Amidst irregularities surrounding the medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate 2024 (NEET-UG), Motha Rohit, President of the Hyderabad Youth Congress, organised a protest at the residence of Union Minister Kishan Reddy in Hyderabad today and demanded the cancellation of the exam.

Taking to his official X handle, Rohit posted, "Organised a unique protest march to Gherav Union Cabinet Minister Kishan Reddy's residence in Hyderabad, highlighting how contrary to Mahatma Gandhi's principle of three wise monkeys which preach 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his NDA Government is preaching 'they cannot see the injustice, hear about the injustice, and talk or respond to the injustice' done to the 33 lakh students of NEET and NET."

He added further, "To oppose this negligence, we have staged a protest at the house of Union Minister Kishan Reddy, demanding his immediate resignation and of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. We, on behalf of the Youth Congress, also demand the cancellation of the NEET exam and its re-conduction." 

(ANI)

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Friday sought transparency in the recently conducted Maharashtra Common Entrance Test (MH-CET) engineering exams in the state, and demanded that the marks of the students be disclosed and answer sheets be given to them.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the CET was held in a “weird” way and examinations for two papers were held in 30 batches. Of this, one paper was held in 24 batches.

“We demand that the answer sheets be shown to the students and the marks be disclosed to them. Toppers should also be announced in this case,” he said.

Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose on Friday said the spate of paper leaks has exposed the "governance deficit" of the Modi government and asked why heads are not rolling after the irregularities in the conduct of exams have come to the fore.
She also said that Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's decision to announce a high-level committee to look into functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) was not good enough.

"The Modi-led government's governance deficit has been cruelly exposed by the spate of paper leaks that have taken place with regard to major all-India competitive examinations. Over the last seven years, over 70 papers have leaked," Ghose charged. She noted that the papers for NEET-UG examination were leaked, and the UGC-Net examination paper was also cancelled because it leaked over the darknet.

(PTI)

Amid the row over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination, Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Friday said that "acting immediately" Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the concerned minister to safeguard the interest of the students.

"According to my knowledge, PM Modi acted immediately after it came to his notice. In the first cabinet itself, he advised the concerned minister how to...safeguard the interest of the students. He has given the direction," Kumaraswamy told reporters.

The former Karnataka CM also performed yoga on the 10th International Yoga Day here in the national capital on Friday.
"PM Modi encouraged citizens of nearly 124 countries to do Yoga every day and keep good health. I congratulate him," he said after the event.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha on Friday said a request will be made to CM Nitish Kumar to recommend a CBI probe into the suspected links of the arrested prime suspect in the NEET 'paper leak' with officials associated with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.

Sinha on Thursday had claimed that officials associated with Tejashwi Yadav were in constant touch with prime suspect-- Sikander Prasad Yadvendu--in the NEET 'paper leak' and had demanded a 'high-level' probe into the matter.

'Recommending a probe by any independent agency like the CBI is the prerogative of the CM…we will meet him (Nitish Kumar) and urge him to do the needful in the matter pertaining to suspected links of arrested accused in the NEET 'paper leak' case with officials associated with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav,' Sinha told PTI.

The DyCM demanded a high-level probe into the matter amid the rising nationwide protests over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG-2024 exam and hearing before the Supreme Court in the matter on July 8.

(PTI)

Congress workers on Friday held a protest march in Jharkhand's Ranchi over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 examination and demanded cancellation of the test. Led by state Congress president Rajesh Thakur, the procession was taken out from Sahid Chowk and it culminated at Raj Bhavan, covering around a two-kilometre stretch.

During the protest march, Congress workers raised slogans against the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre and demanded the arrest of those involved in the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 examinations. Thakur alleged that the central government has been "silent over" the serious issue.

"We demand cancellation of the examinations and arrest of the persons who were involved in the crime," he said. Congress workers demanded that Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan must resign.

(PTI) 

The Congress on Friday held a demonstration here over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 examinations and demanded a probe under the supervision of a sitting Supreme Court judge. Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, who is also Ludhiana MP, led the protest of the state unit against the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET.

"We demand a probe under the supervision of a Supreme Court's sitting judge," he said. Warring along with some other Punjab Congress leaders and workers were briefly detained by the police here.

Punjab Congress leader and MP Dharamvira Gandhi said "We are not even allowed to hold a peaceful protest. We wanted to move to the state BJP office to hold a protest there. But police detained us and did not allow us to move there citing imposition of prohibitory orders under Section 144".

(PTI)

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday skipped the Delhi University's Yoga Day event where some students held a protest against alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams. Pradhan, who was the chief guest for the International Yoga Day event, which was scheduled to begin at 6 am, could not attend it due to "some urgent work", Delhi University (DU) officials said.
Carrying black flags, members of Left-wing outfit All India Students' Association (AISA) along with other students of the university held their demonstration at the institution's North Campus.

The AISA unit of the Delhi University claimed that the minister did not attend the event at the North Campus because of the protest. "In response to the sheer audacity of Pradhan to even think of coming to DU while he and his NTA have jeopardised the future of students, AISA activists along with students of Delhi University raised black flags and protested against his presence in the university," the association said in a statement.

(PTI)

Nagaland Congress leaders and workers on Friday staged a demonstration here over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 examination. Congress leaders and workers converged outside the Congress Bhavan here with placards and banners demanding that the Centre take action against the National Testing Agency (NTA) and those responsible for alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.

Co-chairman of the Public Grievance Department of Nagaland Pradesh Congress Committee, Meshenlo Kath wondered how long the Modi government at the Centre will continue to fool the people of the country.

(PTI)

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to defer the counselling for the controversy-ridden NEET-UG 2024 examination scheduled to kick off on July 6, saying it is not an "open and shut" process. The apex court issued notices to the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Centre and others on a petition seeking cancellation of the exam over alleged irregularities in holding it on May 5.

A vacation bench of Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti posted the matter for hearing on July 8 along with other pending pleas alleging irregularities in conduct of the examination. The counsel appearing for the petitioners urged the bench that the counselling process may be paused for two days as the apex court is scheduled to hear all these pleas on July 8.

(PTI)

CBI has on June 20 registered a case against unknown accused persons u/s 120B and 420 IPC on the basis of complaint received from Secretary, Deptt of Education, Govt. of India.

Mehina Fathima, 24, who hails from Kerala, said the last two days have been disheartening. A Ph D student at JNU, she is dependent on JRF for funds needed to finish her research work. “My research is dependent on field work and it requires a lot of resources. I cannot afford to do that without the stipend money. My father, despite having health issues, had to go back to the Middle East (where he works as a labourer) so that he could provide for our family. I do not want to be a burden on him,” said Fathima, who was among the students who protested outside the Ministry of Education office.

Amid continuing protests against the discrepancies in the NEET and furore over UGC-NET exam cancellation, Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Thursday demanded the scrapping of the National Testing Agency and resignation of the Union Education Minister.

“Solidarity with our students – India’s future – in their struggle to safeguard their academic standards from being destroyed by this ND alliance government led by (Narendra) Modi,” Yechury said in a post on X.

Listing his party’s demands, Yechury said that the NTA system should be scrapped and the Union Education Minister must resign.

"The education minister has announced that a committee will be set up to examine the working of the National Testing Agency (NTA). This is simply not good enough. Why are heads not rolling? Who is responsible for these paper leaks? Who is the Modi government protecting?" says TMC Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghose to news agency PTI. 

The Congress party is standing with the students. We will be hitting the streets in protest. Yoga Day is being observed only to mislead the people. If these children are happy then Yoga Day will also be observed in the country and their families will also be happy. The Congress party will fight for them," says UP Congress chief Ajay Rai to news agency PTI. 

As a part of its nationwide protest, Congress and its state units have hit roads in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Lucknow, Telangana, and Assam. They are protesting against the alleged paper leak of NEET UG and sudden cancellation of UGC NET.

Supreme Court again declines to stay the process of NEET-UG 2024 counselling and issues notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA). Supreme Court tags the fresh pleas along with pending petitions and posts them for hearing on July 8.

#WATCH | Kerala: Members of Kerala Students Union (KSU) protest outside Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram over NEET and UGC-NET issues. pic.twitter.com/LAZ34V7BR3

— ANI (@ANI) June 20, 2024

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— Congress (@INCIndia) June 21, 2024

?? @INCAssam ?? ??????? ?? ?????? ???????? ??????? @BhupenKBorah ?? ?? ??????? ??? NEET ???? ??? ?? ???? ????? ?????? ?? ????? ????? ???????? ?????

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— Congress (@INCIndia) June 21, 2024

Meanwhile, Delhi Congress workers on Friday held a demonstration near the BJP headquarters here over the alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 examinations. The demonstration was led by Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav. The medical entrance examination, National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET-UG, was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates taking part.

(PTI)

A student has petitioned the Supreme Court asking them to allow him to appear for the re-conduction of the NEET UG exam on June 23.  The candidate claims to have a medical condition. The candidate in his plea has mentioned that despite repeated pleas to the NTA they haven't responded yet, reported Live Law. The court has directed the NTA to decide within 2 hours and inform the candidate by 3 pm.  

The petitioner in his plea is requesting the Supreme Court to postpone the July 6 hearing by two days and conduct them on July 8, reported Live Law. 

The Supreme Court vacation bench presided by Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti are hearing the plea of the petitioner who is seeking cancellation of the NEET UG exam and its counselling which is set to start on July 6. Through the petition, the plaintiff aims the court to conduct a fresh exam that should be monitored by the court, reported Live Law. 

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition by a few students seeking permission to appear for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) retest conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on June 23.

The petition was filed by four candidates who appeared in the NEET UG medical admission exam in May, the results of which were announced earlier this month. Three of the four candidates reported to Vijaya Senior Secondary School to appear for the exam, while the fourth reported to Hardayal Public School.

On June 13, the Centre and the NTA informed the Supreme Court that the grace marks awarded to 1,563 candidates for “loss of time” during the exams would be cancelled and a retest organised for those who want to sit for it afresh. As per the NTA’s decision, the candidates who received the grace marks in NEET UG have to either appear for a re-exam or accept the actual marks received by them without grace marks.

One of the four aspirants, who allegedly solved and memorised the answers, also gave a statement to the police that he had gone to Patna from Kota after his relative – one of the main accused – assured him that the NEET question paper could be arranged for him before the test.

These statements were recorded on May 5, after the test, at Shastri Nagar police station in Patna, where the case into the alleged paper leak was lodged.

Raising questions on the credibility of the National Testing Agency (NTA) after grace marks were awarded to 1,563 National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) aspirants, Physics Wallah founder and CEO Alakh Pandey has called for more transparency in the conduct of the exams. 

Pandey had on June 9 filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court asking how the NTA arrived at the figure of 1,563 students, who have now been given a chance to either reappear for the exam on June 23 or accept their original scores.

“When the results were declared on June 4, the NTA didn’t mention the grant of grace marks. It was only when it was pointed out that some students had scored 718 and 719 marks (which is not possible given the scheme of the exam) did the NTA disclose that some students had been given grace marks. This has raised serious questions on the functioning of NTA. Were grace marks given in previous years and similarly not disclosed?” Pandey told The Indian Express at the Noida headquarters of his ed-tech firm.

The founder and CEO added, “What is the exact number of students given grace marks — 1,563 or more? Why are only 1,563 students being given a second chance to reappear for NEET? What about other students who have also suffered loss of time? How did the NTA arrive at the number 1,563?”

A third-party review of the NEET undergraduate exam this year found some worrying “non-compliances” at a number of exam centres on May 5. These included the absence of the mandated two working CCTVs in exam rooms; and examples of strong rooms, where question-papers are stored at the exam centre, being left unguarded.

The review exercise, carried out on the day of the exam, found that of the 399 exam centres visited on the day of the exam, 186, or 46%, did not have two working CCTV cameras, as mandated, installed in each exam room. The live feed of these cameras is transmitted to the Central Control Room at the NTA headquarters in New Delhi which is meant to be monitored by a team of experts.

Further, at 68 (or 16%) of the 399 sample of exam centres, the strong room was not “secured by guard.” As a rule, the strong room should have been guarded till the time of distribution of question papers.

What were other gaps while NEET-UG was conducted? click to know more 

On whether the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, which was passed earlier this year, would be applicable to the UGC-NET paper leak he said, “The Law Ministry is on the job of framing rules. Very soon it will come out with stringent rules. These incidents have also given us a new dimension…to think…with a new approach. A few months back, we didn’t have any weapons to face these kinds of challenges. These kinds of challenges are not limited to a (specific) area. Nowadays, almost all states are affected by these kinds of problems. The primary job of law framing is over.”

Pradhan clarified that the current developments would have no effect on the NEET-UG retest scheduled to be held on June 23 for 1,563 candidates who were first awarded grace marks for loss of time experience on account of mistakes made by exam staff and invigilators at six centres in Haryana.

“UGC-NET exam cancellation was not tentative or based on suspicion. I4C (Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs) contacted us at 3 pm on Wednesday and told us that the paper may have been leaked on the dark web. We tallied the allegedly leaked paper and decided to cancel it only when we were satisfied that it was the actual paper. We immediately also sought a high-level CBI inquiry into this,” said Pradhan.

On Thursday, the CBI registered a case against unknown persons in the UGC-NET matter, on the basis of a complaint received from the Secretary, Department of Education. The case is under sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property) of the IPC.

Owning up the “errors”, Pradhan said, “I take moral responsibility for this. The future of the country will have to be secured, quality and transparency will have to be maintained, the hard work of lakhs of poor students will have to be respected.” When probed further if NEET would be cancelled, he said the country should not hold the future of many candidates from rural areas hostage for “some isolated incidents”.

Addressing a press conference, Pradhan took “moral responsibility” for the loss of faith among youth and students. His stance on Thursday on the allegations and controversy surrounding NEET-UG is different from last week when he had said there was no evidence of a paper leak. “There is no corruption,” he had told reporters right after taking charge of his second stint as the Education Minister in the newly-formed NDA government at the Centre.

All India Students Association (AISA) today held a protest outside Shashtri Bhawan in the National Capital over NEET and UGC-NET issues. Syed Ekram Rizwi, Joint Secretary (Admin), Ministry of Education, who was present at the site, attempted to assure the protesters of resolving their grievances.

"You (protesters) can give your memorandum; I will give it to the Union Education Minister. We are committed to resolving your grievances. If you want, a small delegation can meet our officials," Rizwi told protesters. "Bring back the students (Patna police arrested some candidates)," one of the protesters asked the Joint Secretary. They also raised slogans against the Delhi police.

(ANI)

The Congress on Wednesday announced a nationwide agitation over the NEET-UG controversy and directed its state units to hold massive protests on Friday “demanding justice for the students”.

“Against this massive corruption and irregularities in the NEET Examination and the desperate inaction and silence of the NDA Government, all Pradesh Congress Committees are requested to hold massive protests at state headquarters on Friday, 21 June 2024, demanding justice for the students. This demonstration should involve senior leaders and party functionaries,” a letter by Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal said.

A day after the Ministry of Education ordered the cancellation of the UGC-NET following inputs that the exam’s “integrity may have been compromised,” and handed over the matter to the CBI for investigation, Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary, today said the ministry got inputs from 14C. “Prima facie we felt the exam had been compromised. The inputs were received by UGC from I4C. These inputs were of a technical nature. In the interest of students we have decided to cancel the exam.”

Continue to read here 

“When I came to Delhi, I used to hear stories that the computer-based exam of the UGC-NET had more chances of paper leaks or fraud… But this time, it was a pen and paper test conducted by the NTA (National Testing Agency), which gave me hope that there will be fairness. That faith was misplaced,” Abhishek told The Indian Express. While he’s already a PhD student at Delhi University, Abhishek is hoping to secure a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) on the basis of his NET performance. Without it, he would find it difficult to finish his course.

Read here

Following the events of the UGC-NET examination cancellation, a significant protest was organized by the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the Tribal Students Union (TSU) at Paradise Chowmuhani on Thursday. According to officials, the student leaders from SFI and TSU, including State Secretaries Sandipan Deb and Sujit Tripura, led the demonstration. They expressed their grievances and highlighted the issues faced by students due to the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam.

The decision to cancel the UGC-NET examinations led to widespread discontent among the student community, with many alleging irregularities in the examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). During the protest, the student leaders made their displeasure clear by burning an effigy of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. They accused the central education authorities of failing to ensure a fair and transparent examination process. Sandipan Deb and Sujit Tripura spoke extensively about the adverse impact of the cancellation on students' futures and called for immediate remedial action from the government.

The protest at Paradise Chowmuhani saw a large turnout, with students demanding accountability and transparency from the National Testing Agency. They voiced concerns over repeated allegations of malpractices in exams conducted by the NTA, which have further exacerbated their frustration.

(ANI)

The apex court will hear a petition seeking cancellation of the NEET UG 2024 exam and the counselling/seat allotment process set to begin from July 6

Amid a raging row and demands from the opposition to re-conduct medical entrance exam NEET-UG, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday said isolated incidents of malpractices should not affect lakhs of students who cleared the examination rightfully. Terming the leak of the UGC-NET exam's question paper an "institutional failure" of the National Testing Agency (NTA), he said the government will constitute a high-level panel to look into the functioning of the agency.

At a press conference here, Pradhan also appealed to the opposition parties not to politicise the issue and said strict action would be taken against those found guilty, including "top" officials of the NTA. Ahead of the hurriedly called press conference, there were strong indications that the minister may announce the cancellation of the exam and action against NTA DG Subodh Kumar Singh, who was summoned by the ministry earlier in the day. Pradhan, however, did not respond to both queries affirmatively.

Question paper leak of UGC-NET is an "institutional failure" of National Testing Agency (NTA) and the government will set up a high-level committee to look into its functioning and recommend reforms, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Thursday amid a raging row over medical entrance exam NEET and cancellation of UGC-NET. "The cancellation of UGC-NET was not a knee-jerk reaction. We got proofs that the paper had leaked on darknet and was circulating on Telegram and decided to cancel the exam," Pradhan said at a press conference. "The paper leak is an institutional failure of NTA. We are assuring you that there will be a reform committee and action will be taken," he said.

The NEET-UG 2024 exam was conducted on May 5 and the results were declared on June 4, ahead of its scheduled announcement date of June 14. Protests were held, alleging irregularities and paper leaks, as the results showed that as many as 67 students had topped the exam with a perfect score of 720.

The Education Minister said that a CBI inquiry has been initiated to look into the UGC-NET exam issue, which has already been cancelled. " I want to assure the students, this is your government. Have faith, the interest of students is key to us. Yesterday evening, IC4 gave input on UGC-NET, saying that there is a possibility that the exam was compromised. We looked into it and we also felt that the exam was compromised. We cancelled the exam and initiated a CBI inquiry," Pradhan told ANI. Amid the massive uproar, the Education Ministry cancelled the UGC-NET exam held on June 18, saying its integrity may have been compromised and that it wouldn't hesitate to take action against anyone.

Rahul Gandhi said that paper leaks would continue until this "institutional capture" by the BJP is not reversed and accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "facilitating" this capture. "This is an anti-national activity because this is the future of the country and the youth of the country are facing the brunt of it," the Congress MP said. "Silence (of government) is because the PM is crippled. Right now, the PM's main agenda is the (election of) Speaker. He is bothered about his government and the Speaker. The PM has psychologically collapsed and he will struggle to run a government like this," he added.

Pradhan declined to comment on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's swipe at the central government over the issue, saying, "I don't find it appropriate to comment anything on that today." "I have the responsibility of the education department. I assure the students, that I understand your situation and we will try to find solutions to it. Our govt is responsible for it. Have faith," the Education Minister said.
Hitting out at the NDA government at the Centre over the NEET-UG and UGC-NET issues, Rahul Gandhi earlier on Thursday alleged that the reason behind the paper leaks is because all the Vice-Chancellors and the education system have been captured by the BJP's "parent organisation" (RSS).

Amid an ongoing row over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate 2024 (NEET-UG) and the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET), Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan asserted to further strengthen the National Testing Agency by "reconsidering important things." The Education Minister also assured action against those responsible for the alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examinations.

The Education Minister earlier announced the formation of a high-level committee to probe into the issues pertaining to the functioning of NTA. "We are committed to holding zero-error exams, and a high-level committee is being formed to improve NTA functioning," Pradhan said at a briefing earlier on Thursday.

(ANI)

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha dismissed claims by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha against former Deputy CM and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav in connection with the alleged NEET 'paper leak.' Manoj Jha accused the Deputy CM of making false stories to "save the accused" and demanded to abolish the National Testing Agency which conducts the entrance examinations.

"Dharmendra Pradhan gives a clean chit and later pretends that there are some irregularities. What happened in Gujarat? In Haryana, in a BJP minister's school, 6 children from that centre are on the topper list, so there is an uproar over NEET in the whole country and in such a situation the Union Education Minister should resign, and NTA should be abolished. But what is being discussed? Who booked the guest house in Bihar? Lakhs of children are not a matter of concern," the RJD MP said while speaking to reporters on Thursday.

(ANI)

INC had earlier announced that the political party will today hold a protest against the ongoing NEET controversy.