New Delhi:

The National Testing Agency (NTA) postponed at least 16 exams due to different reasons since its inception in 2018, the Ministry of Education informed the Lok Sabha on Monday.

The reasons for postponement included the COVID-19 pandemic, administrative reasons, logistical reasons, and technical issues.

The information was shared by Minister of State for Education Sukanta Majumdar in response to a written question in Lok Sabha asked by DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi.

“Since its inception in 2018, NTA has successfully conducted over 240 examinations involving over 5.4 crore students.

“Since most of the examinations conducted by NTA are held in multiple-subjects, multiple-shifts and span over a number of days, there have been instances due to unforeseen circumstances like COVID-19 pandemic, logistical and technical issues, administrative issues, legal orders etc, when examination dates initially notified in respect of specific subjects or shifts could not be adhered to,” the Minister said.

According to the data shared by the minister, four exams — JEE-Main (2020), NEET-UG (2020), JEE-Main (2021) and NEET-UG (2021) — were postponed due to COVID-19 pandemic.

CSIR UGC-NET (2020), UGC-NET (December 2020), UGC-NET (May 2021), and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) AIEEA (2020) were postponed due to “COVID-19 pandemic and logistical challenges”.

Delhi University Entrance Test (DUET) 2020 for admission to UG, PG-MPhil, and PhD courses was postponed as the registration process was put on hold by DU due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Common Management Admission Test (CMAT)-2021 was postponed due to the revision of the examination pattern by the AICTE.

All India Ayush Post Graduate Entrance Test (AIAPGET), 2021, and the Joint Integrated Programme in Management Admission Test (JIPMAT), 2021, were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

IGNOU PhD Entrance was postponed in 2022 due to administrative reasons.

Graduate Aptitude Test Biotechnology (GAT-B), 2023 was postponed as per consultation with regional centres for biotechnology.

In 2024, the National Common Entrance Test (NCET), 2024 was postponed due to technical issues, and CSIR-NET, 2024 due to logistic issues.

“NTA has started declaration of examination calendar of major examinations, much in advance for the facilitation of candidates. The examination calendar is planned taking into consideration, buffer days to accommodate for reschedules and postponements for reasons beyond the control of NTA,” the minister said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

The presence of IIT Madras director on the National Testing Agency’s (NTA) governing body as an ex-officio member does not amount to conflict of interest, the exam body has told the Supreme Court. This comes against the backdrop of the Centre citing a report by IIT Madras director, Professor V Kamakoti, to stress that there was no malpractice in the conduct of the all-India exam for admission to MBBS courses.

Narendra Hooda, the counsel for the petitioner in the NEET UG case, had said the data analytics report was not reliable and alleged a conflict of interest because the IIT Madras director was a member of the NTA governing body.

Refuting this, NTA has said in a supplementary chargesheet that the director of an IIT that conducts the JEE (Advanced) exam for engineering aspirants is an ex-officio member of the NTA governing body and this year, IIT Madras conducted the exam. However, the core work of NTA is handled by its managing committee. The governing body, it said, only looks at policy matters.

The IIT Madras director, the NTA said, had nominated another professor to attend the governing body’s meetings. And this professor, too, had not attended any meeting since December last year. The IIT Madras director, it said, had not attended any meeting of NTA governing body since December 2022.

During a hearing into the case of alleged irregularities in NEET, which has sparked nationwide protests, the Centre told the Supreme Court that data analytics of results shows that the marks distribution follows the bell-shaped curve that is witnessed in any large-scale examination and there is no indication of an abnormality.

The Centre then said that according to the findings in the IIT Madras report, there is an overall increase in the marks students have got.

“This increase is seen across the cities and centres. This is attributed to 25 per cent reduction in syllabus. In addition, candidates obtaining such high marks are spread across multiple cities and multiple centres, indicating very less likelihood of malpractice,” it said.

New Delhi:

A 100-strong mob of workers from the NSUI, or National Students Union of India – the Congress’ student wing – barged into and briefly took over the Delhi office of the National Testing Agency, the central body under scrutiny over question paper leaks and other irregularities in this year’s NEET-UG exams.

There is now a heavy police presence at the NTA office in Delhi’s Okhla area.

Early visuals showed a crowd marching down a tree-lined avenue and into the NTA building, shouting and screaming as they charge inside. One video shows a metal padlock on a door – presumably the front door – with a poster declaring “no more corrupt NTA” attached. Photographs from inside the building show protesters gathering at a courtyard with more posters denouncing the NTA.

Meanwhile, in other videos protesters are shouting “NTA bandh karo, bandh karo“.

संसद से महज़ चंद कदमों के फासले पर, पेपर लीक वाली लीकेज सरकार के विरुद्ध पूरे जोश के साथ गरज रहे हैं IYC के साथी! #IYCSansadGheraopic.twitter.com/lCLAv6BC77

— Indian Youth Congress (@IYC) June 27, 2024

Shortly after storming the building the protesters left.

The student wing’s protest came hours after the Congress’ youth wing, the Indian Youth Congress, protested near Parliament as President Droupadi Murmu addressed a joint session. On the NEET exam row, she said the government is “committed to a fair investigation” of the entire issue.

READ | Youth Congress Workers Detained Near Parliament Amid NEET Protest

NEET Exam Row

Controversy over the NEET exam – nearly 24 lakh students took the May 5 qualifying exam for entrance to medical courses – broke this month after results were declared.

The first red flags were the unusually high number of perfect scores; a record 67 students, including six from one coaching centre, scored a maximum 720 in the uber-competitive exam. Questions were also asked over the award of ‘grace marks’ – not exam protocol, the NTA said – to 1, 563 students.

After a flurry of arrests by police forces – from Bihar, Maharashtra, and Delhi – the CBI has taken over the investigation. Agency sources told NDTV a nationwide corruption racket may be involved. Today the agency made its first arrests.

READ | CBI Makes First Arrests In Bihar In NEET-UG Paper Leak Case

CBI sources said one accused – Manish Kumar – facilitated the transport of students to an empty school where they were given the leaked question paper to commit to memory, while the other – Ashutosh – provided lodging.

Supreme Court Notice To NTA

The Supreme Court this afternoon issued a notice to the exam body after a petition claimed the May NEET-UG exam had been rigged. The court directed the NTA to respond by July 8.

READ | Supreme Court Notice To Exam Body Over NEET-UG Row

The petitioners, represented by a coaching centre and other students, argued for students’ right to access their Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets.

The two-judge bench – Justice Manoj Mishra and Justice SVN Bhatti – presiding over the case, questioned the fundamental rights allegedly violated by the NTA’s actions. 

Political War Over Exam Row

The NEET (and UGC-NET) exam row has meant the ruling BJP and the Congress-led opposition have gone head-to-head in the early days of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s third term – over allegations of leaked question papers, preferential marking, and criminals running ‘solver gangs’.

READ | “NEET” Chants In Parliament As Education Minister Takes Oath

On Monday opposition benches heckled Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan – shouting “NEET” and “shame” – as he took his MP’s oath. Mr Pradhan has said the government is taking the issue of leaked question papers seriously and has formed a high-level investigative committee.

Political Blame Game

The sordid scenario took a predictable political twist too, with members of the opposition – particularly the Congress-led INDIA bloc – targeting the ruling BJP. The government hit back by claiming connections between ex-Bihar Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav, whose RJD is part of the INDIA group, and Yadavendu. The RJD denied the claim and accused the BJP of trying to shift focus.

READ | In NEET Row, BJP, RJD Trade Claims Of ‘Link’ To Key Accused

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi called BJP-ruled states the “epicentre of paper leak”; the reference was to cops busting a massive paper leak racket for the Uttar Pradesh Police Constable exam.

The government has, meanwhile, operationalised a stringent law that aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations. A maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for offenders are some of the tough measures under the law.

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New Delhi:

Members of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) were today detained when they were protesting near the Parliament over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak. They were detained after they faced off with the police and broke barricades.

The IYC members had gathered in Delhi and said it was a “Parliament gherao” move and they would continue their march.

Allegations of paper leaks and irregularities have led to significant unrest among students and parents, they said.

संसद से महज़ चंद कदमों के फासले पर, पेपर लीक वाली लीकेज सरकार के विरुद्ध पूरे जोश के साथ गरज रहे हैं IYC के साथी! #IYCSansadGheraopic.twitter.com/lCLAv6BC77

— Indian Youth Congress (@IYC) June 27, 2024

“Thousands of IYC workers have come out on the streets of Delhi today, becoming the voice of students suffering from the atrocities of paper leak,” IYC chief BV Srinivas said in a post on X.

The NEET-UG exam, which was held on May 5, has been mired in controversy with allegations of cheating and impersonation.

ALSO READ | “Strictest Punishment For NEET Accused”: President Murmu In Parliament

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the exam, has faced severe criticism, leading to protests and legal actions.

The Centre has replaced the chief of the NTA and formed a committee to review and improve its functioning. The Supreme Court is also scheduled to hear petitions related to the issue on July 8.

On Wednesday, the Bihar government handed the investigation over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which has already taken several accused into custody.

Earlier today, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the NTA following a petition filed by a learning app alleging exam rigging in the NEET-UG exams. The court directed the NTA to respond to the notice by July 8, when the hearing on the matter will take place.

Students from various organisation protest over the NEET-UG and UGC-NET examinations issue outside Ministry of Education in New Delhi.
| Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP

NEET-PG postponed, CBI to probe NEET-UG allegations, NTA chief removed, as panel set up for agency overhaul

With questions being raised about the “integrity of certain competitive examinations”, the Health Ministry announced the postponement of the NEET-PG entrance examination “as a precautionary measure”, just hours before it was due to be held on June 23 morning. This followed on the heels of decision to remove Subodh Kumar Singh from his position as Director-General of the National Testing Agency, which has come under fire for an alleged paper leak and irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, and other examinations which it conducts.

1,563 candidates to retake NEET-UG on June 23

The retest is being conducted after the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the scorecards of 1,563 students who were granted compensatory marks for loss of time due to a delay in six centres in Meghalaya, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Chandigarh.

Six arrested in Jharkhand in NEET case; Sanjeev Mukhiya kingpin, says Economic Offences Unit

Investigation into the NEET paper leak case led the Bihar Police to neighbouring Jharkhand where police arrested six people from Deoghar on Friday night. A team led by officials of the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) brought the six to Patna for questioning. Deoghar Police said five Nalanda residents Paramjit Singh, Baldev Kumar, Prashant Kumar, Ajit Kumar, Rajiv Kumar, and one Panku Kumar, were arrested from a house near AIIMS-Deoghar.

Erred in not crediting ICMR as co-inventor of Covaxin, says Bharat Biotech

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BSF to recalibrate deployment along Pakistan border in Jammu in the wake of terror strikes

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PM Modi likely to skip SCO summit in Kazakhstan in July; Putin, Xi, Sharif may attend

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Hinduja family ‘appalled’ by jail term order; files appeal in higher court

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New Delhi:
The National Testing Agency (NTA) is in the news after the UGC-NET was cancelled over alleged irregularities, and the NEET ran into controversy. The UGC-NET is for those looking to teach in higher education, while NEET is for medical aspirants.

Here’s your 10-point cheatsheet to this story

New Delhi:

The National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) has called for immediate action against the National Testing Agency (NTA) amid the cancellation of the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) exam conducted on June 18.

NSUI, the student wing of the Indian National Congress (INC), in a release, said that this development has once again highlighted serious concerns about the integrity and security of examinations conducted by NTA.

NSUI president Varun Choudhary appealed to the Education Minister to take immediate and decisive action, including banning the NTA and initiating legal proceedings against its officials.

“We have repeatedly pointed out the flaws and vulnerabilities in the examination processes conducted by NTA. The recent compromise of the UGC-NET exam is just one more example of their failure. It is time for the Education Minister to act responsibly and protect students’ interests,” Mr Choudhary stated.

Mr Choudhary has urged UGC-NET students to join a nationwide protest scheduled for June 21, 2024, which will be held at over 180 universities across the country. Additionally, he has called for participation in the Chhattra Sansad Gherav on June 24, 2024, to further pressure authorities into taking action against the NTA and addressing the concerns of students.

“The Education Minister’s inaction and the decision to target students instead of holding NTA accountable is unacceptable. We will continue to protest until justice is served and the examination process is reformed to ensure fairness and transparency,” Mr Choudhary emphasized.

Education Ministry cancelled the UGC-NET held on June 18 “to ensure the highest level of transparency and sanctity” of the examination process, a ministry release said on Wednesday.

As per the release, 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.

Simultaneously, the matter is being handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for thorough investigation in the matter, it added.

The exam was attended by 81 per cent of over 11.21 lakh registered candidates for the exam in 317 cities across the country, UGC chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)