'Won't hesitate to take action...': Government's response on UGC-NET cancellation
What's the story
Amid the controversy over canceling the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test, the Ministry of Education (MoE) on Thursday said the exam was scrapped because its "integrity may have been compromised."
It added that the government "won't hesitate to take action against anyone."
The education ministry's Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal said the exam was cancelled based on information from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre.
Context
Why does this story matter?
The MoE late on Wednesday night announced the cancellation of the UGC-NET, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
This decision came just a day after over nine lakh candidates appeared for it across 317 cities.
With this, UGC-NET—held for securing entry-level teaching jobs in Indian universities and for PhD admissions—becomes the first centrally-conducted public examination to be scrapped after the introduction of the new anti-paper leak law by the Centre.
Re-examination
Fresh exam to be conducted: Top official
Addressing the media, Jaiswal also said, "The matter has been handed over to the CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] for a thorough investigation. A fresh examination shall be conducted, for which information will be shared soon."
"At this level, when the investigation is underway, we can't disclose more details. NTA has its own mechanism and a lot of other stakeholders are involved. This all is under investigation," he added.
Irregularities
Compromise might have involved UGC-NET's first paper
Notably, the ministry's statement which had announced the cancellation did not detail the exact nature of the "compromise," however, reports indicated that irregularities were detected at some exam centers.
The cancellation of the exam for all 9,08,580 candidates suggests that the alleged compromise might have involved the first paper—which is the same for everyone.
Exam details
UGC-NET has 2 papers
UGC-NET consists of two papers: the first paper, which is common to all candidates, and the second, which is subject-specific and varies according to the candidate's area of specialization.
The second paper is available in 83 different subjects. UGC-NET is held twice annually, in June and December.
Although the NTA has been administering this exam on behalf of the UGC in a computer-based format since December 2018, this year, it reverted to the pen-and-paper format.
Another controversy
Controversy over another NTA-conducted exam
This comes amid controversy surrounding NEET-UG 2024, another exam conducted by the NTA for undergraduate medical courses.
Allegations of a question paper leak and grace marks awarded to over 1,500 students have triggered protests and court cases.
"The issue related to grace marks has already been fully addressed...regards certain irregularities...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," the ministry has said in response.