NEET-UG Row: Dharmendra Pradhan announces high-level committee to probe issues pertaining to NTA

New Delhi | June, 20 : Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday announced the formation of a high-level committee to probe into the issues pertaining to the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) amid the allegations of irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.
“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. “The government is going to form a high-level committee which will be investigating several issues pertaining to the NTA. Recommendations will be expected from that high-level committee to further improve NTA, its structure, functioning, examination process, transparency and data security protocol. We are committed to zero error exam,”Pradhan said at a press conference after the Opposition demanded answers from the Modi-led government over NEET issue and UGC-NET exam cancellation.
The Education Minister said that it will not compromise on transparency and is committed to protecting the interests of the students. “…I want to assure everyone that the government is committed to protecting the interests of students. We will not compromise on transparency…,” Pradhan said. Speaking about the reports of the ‘paper leak’ from Patna, Pradhan said, “In the context of the NEET exam, we are in touch with Bihar government. We are receiving some information from Patna. Police Police are investigating and a detailed report will be submitted by them. Following credible information, strict action will be taken against the guilty.” Pradhan however said that the incident in Bihar is an isolated one and it should not affect other students. “One isolated incident (Bihar paper leak) should not affect lakhs of students who took the exam sincerely,” the Education Minister said. On why the UGC-NET examination was cancelled, Pradhan said that a question paper was found on Dark Net that matched with the original one.  “Soon after it was clear that the UGC-NET question paper on Dark Net matches the original question paper of UGC-NET, we decided to cancel the examination,” he said.
On Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s statement regarding NEET issue and UGC-NET exam cancellation, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “…I will again appeal to my opposition friends to have faith in our system… Our government is 100 per cent committed to transparency, to the betterment of the future of our students. And I assure you again, no malpractice, no irregularity will be tolerated by our government.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Modi-led central government over the NEET issue and UGC-NET exam cancellation and alleged that the reason behind “paper leaks” is that all the Vice Chancellors, the education system has been captured by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s “parent organisation” (RSS). “I have spoken about institutional capture in various organizations. This is happening in the education institutions. The reason behind paper leaks is that all the Vice Chancellors, the education system has been captured by the BJP and its parent organisation (RSS),” Rahul Gandhi said in a press conference on Thursday. Rahul Gandhi said that paper leaks could continue till this “institutional capture” of education institutions by the BJP is not reversed.
“Till the time this is not reversed, paper leaks will go on. Modi has facilitated 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. “It is a national crisis, it’s an economic crisis, it’s an educational crisis, institutional crisis. But I don’t see any response…Regarding Bihar, we have said that there should be an inquiry and action should be taken against those who have leaked the paper,” he added.
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 NEET-UG examination, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), paves the way for admission to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country. The Ministry of Education on Wednesday cancelled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) exam conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on June 18. A fresh examination shall be conducted, for which information shall be shared separately. On June 19, 2024, the University Grants Commission (UGC) received certain inputs from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the 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.