Govt cancels UGC NET June 2024 conducted by NTA amid reports of paper leak
In yet another setback for students, the Ministry of Education Wednesday cancelled the UGC NET June 2024 conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) amid the reports alleging paper leaks
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New Delhi: In yet another setback for students, the Ministry of Education Wednesday cancelled the UGC NET June 2024 conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) amid the reports alleging paper leaks.
The Ministry of Education announced the cancellation of the exam a day after the NTA claimed successfully conducting the UGC NET for which a total of 908,580 candidates had appeared on Tuesday June 18, 2024.
The UGC NET June 2024 exam was conducted in pen and paper mode as against online mode held till the last year.
“The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination in OMR (pen and paper) mode on 18th June, 2024 in two shifts across different cities of the country.
“On 19th 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 of Education, Government of India has decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination be cancelled. A fresh examination shall be conducted, for which information shall be shared separately. Simultaneously, the matter is being handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (C.B.I.) for thorough investigation in the matter”, the Ministry of Education said in a statement.
The ministry does not specifically mentioned paper leak, however there are certain reports that the UGC NET papers were leaked before the exam.
The National Testing Agency is silent on the latest development and the last update on the NTA website regarding UGC NET is a release dated June 18, 2024 which talks about “successfully conducting the exam”.
NTA continues to face NEET heat
The government’s decision to cancel the UGC NET 2024 exam came amidst the allegations of paper leak, malpractice and irregularities in the medical entrance NEET UG 2024 conducted by the NTA in May this year.
Close to 24 lakh students from India and abroad appeared for the NEET UG 2024. The NTA claimed the exam ended successfully without any irregularities, however cases of malpractice in NEET UG were filed in Gujarat and Bihar where the state police have also made some arrests.
The NEET UG 2024 is also facing legal hurdles as a number of petitions are due for a judgement in the Supreme Court of India where the judges have made some harsh comments against the NTA.
Even as the hearing on the petition over irregularities in NEET UG was still on, the Education Ministry decided to invalidate the grace marks awarded to some 1,563 students who appeared for the exam at a centre in Haryana.
Commenting on the NEET UG exams, the Ministry of Education said:
“In the matter pertaining to the NEET (UG) Examination-2024, the issue related to grace marks has already been fully addressed. As regards certain irregularities alleged in the conduct of the examination in Patna, a detailed report has been sought from the Economic Offences Unit, Bihar Police. Government will take further action, on receipt of this report.
“Government is committed to ensure the sanctity of examinations and protect the interest of students. It is reiterated that any individual/organization found to be involved in this matter will face strictest action.”
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