The central government on Saturday ordered a CBI probe into the allegations of irregularities and paper leak in the conduct of the NEET examination for admission to undergraduate medical courses.
The Union Ministry of Education, in a statement, said that “certain cases of alleged irregularities/cheating/impersonation/malpractices have been reported” with regard to the NEET examination and that “for transparency in the conduct of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, after a review, has decided to entrust the matter to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation”.
“The government is committed to ensure the sanctity of examinations and protect the interest of students. It is reiterated that any individual/ organisation found to be involved will face strictest action,” the ministry emphasised.
The NEET-UG was held on May 5 across 4,750 centres in the country and around 24 lakh candidates took it. The results were announced on June 4, ten days ahead of the expected date.
Allegations of question paper leaks and malpractices were raised immediately after the results, as over 67 students secured the maximum marks, with some of them coming from the same examination centres. An initial probe by the police discovered irregularities and paper leaks in Bihar, and some candidates have also come forward publicly, claiming they received question papers on the eve of the examination.
The allegations have led to protests in several cities and the filing of petitions in several high courts as well as the Supreme Court.
The CBI is also probing the alleged paper leak of the UGC NET examination, which was held on June 18 this year and cancelled two days later on June 20, citing that its “integrity was compromised”. The CBI registered an FIR in the matter on June 20.
Meanwhile, the Union Health Ministry also postponed the NEET-PG entrance examination scheduled to be held on June 23, as well as CSIR-NET, as a “precautionary measure” in the wake of recent allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive exams.
Amid the massive row, the NTA Director General Subodh Singh was shunted out on Saturday and senior bureaucrat Pradeep Singh Kharola has been appointed as the agency’s new head. Also, a seven-member high-level panel has been set up headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan to review the NTA’s functioning and recommend exam reforms.