Amidst controversy and an investigation into the leakage of the medical entrance examination known as NEET, conducted by the central government, the examination has not been canceled.
In defending the decision, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated that the leakage was not widespread and limited to several students, unlike earlier cases of leakage in 2004 and 3 exam leakage resulted in cancellation.
About the cancellation of the exam, Pradhan stated that it would be counterproductive to the lakhs of students who have rightly qualified for the examination. Speaking to journalists during the press conference in the capital, the minister said:
“It is an injustice to spare the career of the candidates who have rightly qualified for the exam because the others indulged in malpractice here and there’.
The row began when 67 students obtained a perfect score in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG), following which; the NTA explained that some students had been given extra marks because of a lo=ved question and also the delay in the distribution of questions papers.
The Centre has, however, not decided to cancel the exam amidst the leakage since the leakage is assumed to have been in a limited region, and only a couple of students from Bihar benefit.
Describing the leak as the NTA institutional failure, Pradhan mentioned that a committee comprised of ministerial-level officials will be set up to study the agency’s operations.
He also appealed to the opposition parties not to politicize it and informed them that depending on the outcome of the investigation, ‘educational’ and ‘strict’ action would be taken against parties found guilty; this included ‘top’ officials of the NTA.
