NEW DELHI, 23 Jun: Facing flak over alleged discrepancies in competitive exams, the Centre on Saturday shunted out National Testing Agency (NTA) director General Subodh Singh and handed over the probe into irregularities in medical entrance exam NEET-UG to the CBI.
The education ministry also set up a seven-member panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to review the agency’s functioning and recommend exam reforms.
It postponed the NEET-PG entrance, the fourth entrance exam to be impacted in recent days.
“We stand for transparent, tamper-free and zero error examination. A panel has been formed on exam reforms, strict action has been taken against officials, and the case has been handed over to CBI,” union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
“Students’ interest will be safeguarded at any cost,” he said after a flurry of decisions amid litigation and protests in different parts of the country on the issue of alleged irregularities in entrance exams.
The opposition hit out at the government, with the Congress alleging that the education system has been “ruined” under the Modi government.
According to officials, NTA DG Subodh Kumar Singh has been put on “compulsory wait” in the personnel & training department till further orders.
India Trade Promotion Organisation Chairman Pradeep Singh Kharola has been assigned additional charge of the NTA till the appointment of a regular incumbent.
“Certain cases of alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation and malpractices have been reported in NEET-UG which was conducted on 5 May.
“For transparency on the conduct of the examination process, it was decided after a review that the matter be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for comprehensive investigation,” the education ministry said, announcing the late-night decision.
The union health ministry also announced the postponement of NEET-PG entrance, a night before the entrance exam, as a “precautionary measure” in the wake of recent allegations over the integrity of certain competitive exams.
The move comes a day after the June edition of the Joint Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and UGC-NET was postponed. The Joint CSIR-UGC-NET is a test conducted to determine eligibility for junior research fellowship and assistant professor and admission to PhD in science courses.
Pradhan, however, denied any leak of CSIR-NET paper and said that the exam was postponed due to logistical reasons. He also asserted that anybody involved or responsible for any irregularity in NEET-UG will not be spared.
Buck stops at top echelons of Modi govt: Cong
Meanwhile, the Congress on Sunday hit out at the Modi government over the bureaucratic reshuffle in the NTA after alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG, saying that the buck stops at the doorstep of the top echelons of the regime.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that the NTA is projected to be an autonomous body but in reality is made to serve the “devious interests” of the BJP/RSS.
“In the NEET scam, the buck stops at the doorstep of the top echelons of the Modi government. Shuffling the bureaucrats is no solution to the endemic problem in the education system rotted by the BJP,” he said in a post on X.
For students to get justice, Modi government must be held accountable, he said.
“Paper leaks, corruption, irregularities and education mafia have infiltrated our education system,” he alleged.
“This belated whitewashing exercise is of no consequence as countless youth continue to suffer,” Kharge said.
Slamming the postponement of the NEET-PG exam, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi charged that PM Narendra Modi is “helpless” before the paper leak racket and “education mafia.”
“Now NEET-PG has been postponed. This is another unfortunate example of the ruined education system under Narendra Modi’s rule. In BJP rule, students are not forced to study to save their careers, but are forced to fight with the government to save their future. Now it is clear, after silently watching the spectacle every time, Modi is helpless before the paper leak racket and education mafia,” he said in a post in Hindi on X.
“Narendra Modi’s incompetent government is the biggest threat to the future of students and we must save the future of the country from it,” he added.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also attacked the Modi government over the alleged irregularities in national competitive exams, including the NEET-UG, alleging that it has handed over the entire education system to the “mafia” and the “corrupt.”
In a post on X, she said that the NEET-UG question paper was “leaked” while the NEET-PG, UGC-NET and CSIR-NET were “cancelled.”
Earlier, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, “No day is complete without news of cancellation of an exam because of the total incompetence of the non-biological PM and the people around him.” (PTI)
