'No Complaints Against UGC-NET': Under Fire For Scrapping Exam, MoE Calls Its Decision 'Proactive'

New Delhi: Education Ministry on Thursday, June 20, said that UGC NET exam was cancelled to protect interest of students and prima facia it appeared that it was compromised. dressing a press conference, Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal said that matter is being investigated by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and fresh dates would be announced soon. decision by Ministry comes amid a massive row on medical entrance exam NEET over alleged irregularities, with issue now before Supreme Court. 

“9 lakh students h participated in UGC-NET exam that NTA conducted on June 18. ministry saw that re was a chance that examination h been compromised. ministry has decided to cancel examination. next date will be declared soon. matter has been referred to CBI,” said Ministry of Education Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal on Thursday. 

Calling it a prompt action by ministry, Jaiswal said that that no complaints were received about exam but a suo motu action was taken on basis of inputs available with m to protect students' interest. inputs were shared to Education ministry by Ministry of Home Affairs, said Jaiswal. Education Ministry Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal said details of inputs cannot be shared as matter has been referred to CBI and is currently under investigation.

"No complaints were received but inputs we received from agencies indicated that integrity of exam has been compromised. action was taken suo motu to safeguard interests of students," he said.

MoE Cancels NET Within 24 Hrs 

ministry on Wednesday cancelled UGC-NET conducted by National Testing Agency following inputs that integrity of examination may have been compromised. UGC NET Examination was held at differed centres across India on Tuesday, June 18, and about 9 lakh students appeared for examination. Ministry cancelled examination following concerns raised by Ministry of Home Affairs' National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit (I4C). 

NET Cancellation Was Pre-Planned 

Several students who appeared for UGC NET Examination flagged several discrepancies in examination process. Republic spoke with several candidates who participated in UGC-NET June 2024 exam held on June 18, revealing a striking deviation from normal protocol. Despite explicit instructions printed on question paper requiring candidates to surrender ir mit cards post-exam, invigilators reportedly allowed candidates to retain m.

ditionally, candidates highlighted anor anomaly - absence of carbon copies of ir OMR sheets. Typically, in OMR-based tests, candidates receive a carbon copy of ir filled OMR sheet after exam to verify ir responses and potentially challenge m if necessary. lack of this standard practice furr ds to discrepancies observed during UGC-NET June 2024 exam.