New Delhi: The Central government on Thursday announced the formation of a high-level committee to provide recommendations for enhancing the structure, processes, data management and security protocols of the National Testing Agency (NTA), after its conduct of two crucial national-level exams got mired in controversies.
The committee will comprise technocrats, scientists, educational administrators, educationists and psychologists.
Addressing a press conference, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “We take responsibility and are committed to improving the system. Our government is fully dedicated to transparency and securing a better future for our students. I assure you again that any kind of malpractice or irregularity will not be tolerated.”
Read this also , NEET-UG, UGC-NET controversy: Guilty will not be spared: Pradhan
However, Pradhan clarified that the government has not yet decided to cancel NEET-UG 2024, while the UGC-NET exam is held to determine eligibility for teaching jobs in universities and colleges. He described the issues related to NEET as “isolated incidents” under police investigation. The NEET-UG 2024 results have created an uproar across the country, as many candidates have scored full marks of 720, indicating irregularities.
The announcement came after the ministry on Wednesday decided to scrap the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (NET) following concerns raised over the sanctity of the exam.
The need for action
Four NEET aspirants arrested in Bihar for their involvement in the paper leak have reportedly confessed that the question paper was leaked on the eve of the May 5 exam. The gang has reportedly charged up to Rs 10 lakh. A fine of Rs 32 lakh has been imposed for the leaked material. After the NEET case, several petitions have been filed in various courts of the country including the Supreme Court.
While some said the formation of the committee was not enough, others welcomed the move.
Roshan Mohideen, national secretary of the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO), one of the petitioners in the case, said, “We believe this action is inadequate and is merely an attempt to cool down the case. The SIO demands a thorough investigation by the Special Investigation Team under the guidance of the Supreme Court to ensure a transparent and fair investigation…”
Charu Mathur, one of the lawyers for the petitioners in the case, said, “This is a welcome move. However, a balance is needed. Responsibilities must be fixed and the guilty punished. We must remember that there are lakhs of innocent students who have worked hard; if the leaks are region-specific then they should not have to take such an exam again. In that case, there should be only a limited number of re-NEET exams.”
UGC NET Cancellation
Regarding the cancellation of UGC-NET, Pradhan said, “The decision was based on credible evidence of questions being available on the darknet, thereby compromising the integrity of the exam.” According to Pradhan, the question paper circulated on the social media platform Telegram matched the original question paper.
On the Bihar incident, Pradhan said, “We are in touch with the Bihar government regarding the NEET exam and are getting updates from Patna. Patna police is investigating and strict action will be taken based on credible information.”
Supreme Court refuses to stay counselling
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court refused to stay the counselling process for students who cleared the controversial NEET-UG 2024 exam for admission to undergraduate medical courses. “If the exam goes ahead, counselling will also continue,” Justices Vikram Nath and SVN Bhatti of the vacation bench said.
The Supreme Court also stayed proceedings related to paper leak allegations in the Rajasthan, Calcutta and Bombay high courts, reacting to the NTA’s plea to transfer these cases to the apex court.
The Supreme Court will now hold a comprehensive hearing on July 8.
Several anomalies in this year’s NEET exam were highlighted during the hearing. One lawyer highlighted the unprecedented number of 67 students who scored full marks of 720, demanding a probe into their academic background. Other lawyers raised the issue of loss of crucial exam time of students and allegations of incorrect multiple choice questions (MCQs) at an exam centre in Meghalaya.
After the NEET 2024 results were released on June 4, several anomalies came to light, most notably the unprecedented occurrence of 67 students achieving perfect scores of 720/720. The validity of these scores was questioned, especially with reports that six students from a single centre in Haryana scored perfect scores.
Several petitions were filed in response to these controversies. The Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO) challenged the results and demanded a fresh examination. Alakh Pandey, CEO of Physics Vallah, which coaches candidates for medical and engineering entrance exams, filed a petition against the arbitrary granting of grace marks to around 1,500 students.
Other petitions highlighted discrepancies in marks, statistical anomalies, and sought re-evaluation of OMR sheets without grace marks, forensic audit and cancellation of specific NTA announcements. Additionally, a CBI probe into the alleged paper leak was sought, particularly focusing on Jai Jalaram School in Gujarat.
On 13 June, the government informed the Supreme Court of its decision to withdraw the grace marks given to 1,536 students, grant them revised marks and give them the option of re-taking the exam on 23 June.
Subsequently, on June 14, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Centre and NTA in response to the CBI probe into the alleged paper leak.
Around 2.4 million candidates appeared for the entrance exam held on May 5 across 571 cities, including 14 centres located outside India.
