After the Education Ministry cancelled the 2024 UGC-NET examination over concerns indicating possible compromise, initial investigations hint at a large corruption racket. Sources have told NDTV that officials responsible for overseeing the exam’s administration, including those who set question paper, will be investigated. The Education Ministry also assured that it won’t hesitate to take action against anyone.
Officials responsible for printing question papers and transporting them to examination centres will also be questioned. The role of the latter will be keenly probed due to their unrestricted access to all question papers.
Over 11 lakh students had registered for the exam, which was held on Tuesday and got cancelled a day later. UGC-NET determines a candidate’s eligibility for the post of assistant professor in universities and colleges, as well as for research fellowships.
Following the cancellation of the NET, student protests erupted on university campuses. They alleged that they had reported paper leaks a week before the exam, but no action was taken.
At Lucknow University, students claimed that at least one paper had been leaked and was being sold for as little as Rs 5,000. According to them, the leaked paper was circulated widely through WhatsApp and Telegram groups.
“The matter has been given to the CBI (Central Bureau of Investigation)… a fresh exam will be conducted soon,” Govind Jaiswal, the Joint Secretary, said.
The ministry, he said, will take necessary action against those involved in wrongdoing. “At this level, when the investigation is underway, we can’t disclose more details. NTA has its own mechanism and a lot of other stakeholders are involved. This all is under investigation,” he said.
The exam was conducted by the National Testing Agency, which is already under fire for alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for undergraduate admission to medical colleges. Over 24 lakh aspirants sat for the exam. Reports of paper leak have triggered nationwide protests and demands for a re-test.
