NEET exam irregularities: Student protests intensify after cancellation of UGC-NET exam, opposition attacks govt

NEW DELHI: The outcry over alleged irregularities in the NEET medical entrance exam intensified on Thursday. Many student groups protested and the opposition criticized the government, saying the leaked documents were reminiscent of the Vyapam scam. They also argued that the future of exam candidates was under threat. The cancellation of the UGC-NET exam, amid the NEET controversy, has raised doubts about the National Testing Agency’s ability to handle larger exams.

The education ministry said it was awaiting a report from the economic offenses unit of the Bihar Police on alleged irregularities in the conduct of NEET in Patna and would take further action based on it. The ministry also summoned NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh to discuss the matter further.

The ministry on Wednesday canceled the UGC-NET conducted by the NTA following reports that the integrity of the exam may have been compromised.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi held a press conference and launched a scathing attack on the government over alleged irregularities in NEET and cancellation of UGC-NET. He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had “psychologically collapsed” after the elections and would find it difficult to run a government like this. This.

He said the main reason for the paper leaks is that educational institutions have been captured by the BJP and its parent organization. RSS and paper leaks will not stop unless this situation is reversed.

“Prime Minister Modi has been said to have ended the war between Ukraine and Russia and between Israel and Gaza, but either he is unable to stop the leaking of exam papers or he doesn’t want to do it,” Gandhi said.

He claimed that during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, thousands of people complained of paper leakage.

“There has been an expansion of the idea of ​​Vyapam in the rest of the country,” he said about the recent controversy while referring to the Vyapam exam scam and recruitment in Madhya Pradesh .

“Nothing should be done arbitrarily, the rules that apply to one newspaper should apply to another,” Gandhi said.

More than two dozen students from different universities and members of various student groups were arrested on Thursday while protesting against the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam and irregularities in NEET.

The students were detained outside the Education Department as well as the residence of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan here in central Delhi.

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha claimed that the main accused arrested in the NEET ‘paper leak’ was linked to officials associated with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav and demanded an investigation into it .

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has urged the Center to take immediate steps to resolve the crisis in the NTA, saying its “repeated incompetence” in conducting exams such as NEET and UGC-NET will not could be accepted.

Trinamool Congress MP Saket Gokhale said the examination process in the country had failed and the lives of students were being destroyed. He accused the NTA of being complicit.

Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha said the NEET exam should also be cancelled.

“You had to take down NET and you have to take down NEET now because there is a lot of evidence that this exam has been compromised. And it’s time to recognize that NTA is a fraud,” he said.