UGC-NET exam cancelled to safeguard students’ interest, says Education Ministry official.

The Ministry of Education has cancelled the UGC NET exam, conducted by the National Testing Agency on June 18, after receiving inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs indicating that the exam’s integrity had been compromised. Now, more than 9 lakh candidates will need to retake the UGC NET exam.

UGC NET is a national-level exam conducted twice a year by the NTA to determine the eligibility of candidates for the positions of ‘Assistant Professor’ and ‘Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor’ and for PhD admissions. The exam for June 2024 cycle was held on June 18 in two shifts across 317 cities. However, the exam was cancelled due to concerns about its integrity.

UGC NET Cancelled

The Ministry of Education took to its social media platform X and posted, “Government is committed to ensure the sanctity of examinations and protect the interest of students. Ministry of Education has decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination be cancelled on the basis of inputs from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, prima facie indicating that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised.”

It further stated that the investigation matter has been handed over to CBI and the information about the re-exam will be shared shortly.

Education ministry came under scanner for the cancellation of UGC NET and has been facing criticism for the NEET issue. “Some irregularities have come to the notice of the government. We take responsibility for it. I would like to request the students very politely not to believe in rumours,” he said.

UGC-NET cancelled to protect students’ interests: Education ministry.

On the NEET UG 2024 paper leak issue, the Pradhan said that the ministry has been in regular contact with the Bihar Police. The minister admitted that the enquiry conducted so far gives evidence of errors in some regions. He assured students that the government is committed to safeguarding interest of students and everyone involved in the security breach will be punished. “Let us have faith in our systems; no irregularities or malpractices will be tolerated by govt,” education minister said. He also urged students to not politicise the NET issue. “Errors in NEET examination limited to specific region. One isolated incident (Bihar paper leak) should not affect lakhs of students who took the exam sincerely,” he said.

The following day, education ministry officials said that no complaints were formally received regarding the UGC-NET exam. However, Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal explained that the decision was made suo motu based on inputs from agencies, suggesting that the integrity of the exam had been compromised. The matter has been referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and is currently under investigation.

Jaiswal said that, “No complaints were received, but the inputs we received indicated a compromise in the integrity of the exam. The action was taken suo motu to safeguard the interests of students.”

A day after the UGC-National Eligibility Test (NET) was cancelled, a senior official from the education ministry on Thursday said that the decision was a suo motu action taken on the basis of inputs received by them to protect students’ interests, as the “integrity of the exam had been compromised.”

‘Won’t hesitate in taking action’: Education ministry after UGC-NET cancelled.

“To ensure the highest level of transparency and sanctity of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, Government of India has decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination be cancelled. A fresh examination shall be conducted, for which information shall be shared separately,” the ministry said.

Amid the growing protests against the NEET UG exam, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Sunday said that a lot of improvement is required in the National Testing Agency (NTA) while reiterating that no culprit will be spared.