Ministry of Education (MoE) announced the cancellation of the UGC-NET examination on Wednesday amid concerns over the integrity of the examination. The exam was conducted by NTA ( National Testing Agency) in a pen and paper mode with an OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) based model on Tuesday, 18 June.
The Ministry of Education made the decision after receiving evidence proving that the integrity of the exam was compromised. The ministry said it wants to ensure the transparency and sanctity of examinations.
UGC-NET Exam Cancelled Due to Security Concerns
“Ministry of Education has decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination be cancelled on the basis of inputs from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, prima-facie indicating that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised,” Ministry of Education stated in an official statement.
As the NEET controversy is still not completely resolved, the NTA is again being questioned about its operational issues. It should be noted that the NTA, which conducted the NEET examination, is accused of paper leakage and exam malpractice.
MoE has confirmed the conduction of the re-examination. “Fresh Examination shall be conducted, for which information shall be shared separately,” the ministry added in the statement.
UGC chairperson M Jagadesh Kumar stated that out of 11.21 lakh registered candidates, almost 81% appeared for the examination which was conducted in 317 cities around the country.
The UGC-NET exam is conducted twice a year to assess the eligibility of Indian nationals for junior research fellowships, Assistant Professor positions, and PhD admissions in universities and colleges across India. The examination is usually held in an online mode but this time it was conducted in a pen and paper mode.
MoE concluded the statement by highlighting that the case has been handed over to CBI for thorough investigation.
While talking about the NEET case, the ministry 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.”
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