June 14th 2024.
New Delhi: The Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, made it clear on Friday that the government will not tolerate any malpractice or irregularities in the upcoming exams. He assured that strict actions will be taken if any lapses or misconduct are found, and the National Testing Agency (NTA) will be held accountable for their actions. These statements came amidst the controversy surrounding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the medical entrance exam.
The NTA has been facing criticism and allegations of irregularities and inflation of marks in the NEET exam. In response to the action taken against six centres where the exam paper was wrongly distributed, Pradhan stated that every aspect is being looked into. He also mentioned that the accountability of the NTA will be fixed, and appropriate actions will be taken depending on the nature of the lapses. He emphasized that there is no room for any malpractice or irregularities in the conduct of exams, and the government is determined to ensure fairness and equity for all NEET examinees.
Pradhan further added that the concerns of students will be addressed with utmost importance and that the counselling process will begin soon. He urged for a smooth and confusion-free direction towards the counselling process, emphasizing the fact that the facts related to NEET are in cognizance of the Supreme Court. This statement came as the Congress intensified their attack on the government over the NEET issue, questioning the Prime Minister's silence on the matter.
The Congress party has demanded a Supreme Court-monitored forensic probe to safeguard the future of lakhs of young students. The President of Congress, Mallikarjun Kharge, accused the Modi government of trying to cover up the NEET scam through the Education Minister and the NTA. He also stated that the government has just lost the elections and is now looking for a new issue to divert attention. Pradhan, on the other hand, reiterated that there is no concrete evidence to prove the allegations of paper leaks in this year's NEET-UG exam.
When asked about the rise in the number of toppers and cut-off marks this year, Pradhan explained that the syllabus for NEET was reduced as per the syllabus rationalized by NCERT. He pointed out that in the previous years, the NEET syllabus was not reduced, but this year it was aligned with the state boards' syllabus. This led to an increase in competition and ultimately, an increase in the number of top scorers.
Pradhan also met with some NEET aspirants and their parents on Friday to address their concerns. He mentioned that NEET-UG was conducted at over 4,500 centres, and incorrect question distribution was reported at just six of them. He emphasized that the credibility of the entire system cannot be questioned just because of these six centres.
Responding to the question of whether the government will take steps to bring reforms in the way NTA conducts entrance exams, Pradhan stated that NTA is a competent agency. However, he acknowledged that no institution is perfect, and continuous efforts are made to bring reforms. He assured that he will present all the facts in parliament when questioned by the Congress, who claimed that the NEET issue will "reverberate inside Parliament as well."
Earlier in the day, Pradhan met with two students and a parent who had come to the Education Ministry to raise their grievances about NEET. On Thursday, the NTA informed the Supreme Court that the decision to award grace marks to 1,563 candidates in NEET-UG for admission to MBBS, BDS, and other courses was cancelled. These candidates will now be given the option to take a retest on June 23. Last week, the Education Ministry had set up a four-member panel to review the grace marks awarded to these students due to a delay in starting the examination at certain centres.
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