Amid NEET row, Centre now cancels UGC-NET after 'exam integrity was compromised'
Even as the controversy over NEET threatens to reach a boiling point, the Ministry of Education has now cancelled the UGC-NET exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency, just a day after it was held.
Over 9 lakh candidates appeared for the exam, which is held for Assistant Professor recruitments in universities and colleges as well as to determine eligibility for junior research fellowships.
The announcement triggered an immediate reaction from Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who called out the government for its "laxity" and demanded that accountability be fixed.
In a statement, the Education Ministry said the June exam of the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) was conducted on Tuesday in OMR (pen and paper) mode in two shifts across 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," it said.
The ministry said it was announcing the cancellation of the June 2024 examination "to ensure the highest level of transparency and sanctity of the examination process" and that it will be held afresh at a date announced later.
There have been reports of the paper of the examination being leaked, but this was not confirmed by the ministry. It said only that the matter had been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation for investigation.
The UGC-NET is conducted twice every year, in June and December.
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