The chairman and secretary of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) have been removed from their positions following allegations of irregularities in the digital evaluation system for the class 12 examination process.
Observing that a re-test has to be ordered if sanctity of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024 is 'lost', the Supreme Court on Monday sought information from the National Testing Agency and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) about timing of question paper leak and duration between leak and actual test.
The top court, however, refused to stay the counselling of successful candidates for admissions to Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery, Bachelor of Dental Surgery and other courses.
Congress chief whip Jairam Ramesh has filed a privilege notice against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for allegedly making derogatory remarks about a parliamentary committee, claiming he lowered the dignity of Parliament.
'Aspiring doctors have put in years of their lives to study in preparation for NEET exams as they start studies from Class 9 to get good marks.' 'And today, after the NEET paper leak, these students even after getting good marks are unable to get admission in any good medical college (because of inflated merit marks due to the paper leak).' 'They are thinking, was it worthwhile to study so hard for the examinations to become a doctor?'
'While not everyone may be pleased with a NEET retest judgment, it would restore fairness and integrity to the process, giving all students an equal opportunity based on merit.' 'This decision would correct the injustices faced by deserving students who were disadvantaged by the initial compromised exam'
The credibility of the examination system has also come under question, they said.
Asserting the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) wants a constructive debate on the NEET issue, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said it is unfortunate that they were not allowed to raise it in the Parliament.
The cancellation of UGC-NET, amid the raging row over NEET, led to questions being raised over National Testing Agency's (NTA) capability to conduct exams of larger magnitude.
Karnataka has the highest number of medical seats in the country at 11,745, of which 3,750 seats were in government institutions and 7,995 seats were in private colleges.
The CBSE has taken up on 'top priority' the cases related to alleged mismatched answer sheets and other concerns faced by students in the re-evaluation process, a source in the board said.
NEET is a court-ordered examination, supposedly aimed at meritocracy. However, over the past years when the incumbent Narendra Modi government at the Centre began implementing it, it took on political and casteist colours, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
Yadvendu claimed that he demanded Rs 40 lakh from each aspirant, including his nephew Anurag Yadav, for providing the leaked question paper on May 4, a day before the exam.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Thursday made its first arrests in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET-UG) paper leak case, taking two people in custody in Patna while three candidates in Gujarat who had allegedly solicited help to clear the exam recorded their statements with the probe agency, officials said.
Stressing that every question paper has been "accounted for", the NTA said that purported images of the question paper circulating on social media have no relation with the actual paper.
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday rejected allegations of paper leak in medical entrance exam National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG), saying there is no evidence of it.
The plea alleged that NEET-UG, 2024, was riddled with malpractices as various instances of paper leaks have come to the knowledge of the petitioners.
'In the history of India this kind of scores and ranks has never happened in exams.'
The counselling session was likely to begin in the first week of July. However, the counselling authorities had not notified any date or schedule.
National Testing Agency (NTA) officials reported that 813 of the 1,563 candidates appeared for the retest while the others opted for the marks without the grace.
They have sought a direction from the top court to the Union education ministry to probe, identify and take strict action against students and others who indulged in unfair practices like paper leak and impersonation in the NEET-UG exam conducted on May 5 this year.
The National Testing Agency, under fire over the lapses in the conduct of NEET and UGC-NET, is gearing up to conduct on Sunday a retest for the medical entrance exam for 1,563 candidates who were earlier awarded grace marks to make up for the loss of time at six centres.
Rao suggested changes should also be brought in the evaluation methods and pitched for introduction of an open-book examination system for competitive examinations designed to test the candidates' "competence, aptitude, attitude and Intelligence Quotient".
With the arrest of Dixit Patel, owner of Jay Jalaram School situated near Godhra in Panchmahal district, the number of persons arrested so far- five of them were held by Gujarat Police- has gone up to six.
A bench of Justices Prashant Kumar Mishra and Augustine George Masih, which initially questioned the over two-month window sought by the NBE for holding the examination, said the board's plea appeared to be "bonafide".
The agency is under criticism amid allegations of irregularities and inflation of marks in the crucial medical entrance exam.
An analysis of data indicated that while the candidates who allegedly benefitted from the paper leak and other irregularities have not done well, some centres have a high concentration of well-performing students.
The NTA denied any irregularities and said the changes made in the NCERT textbooks and grace marks for losing time at the examination centres were some of the reasons behind the students scoring higher marks.
The National Testing Agency is facing criticism on social media for alleged errors in the answer keys for the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) Main Session 2, 2025.
Gandhi said Modi's top priority now is to get his Speaker in Parliament and is not bothered about NEET .
The Bihar Police's Economic Offences Unit, which is probing the alleged National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET-UG) paper leak case, on Saturday claimed to have obtained reference question papers of the test conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) and planned to compare these with documents recovered from a flat in Patna during a search operation last month.
'The NEET-PG is the only exam for admission to MD, MS and PG Diploma courses.' 'Many doctors take time off from work to prepare for it, while others study during their long hospital shifts.'
Sanjeev Kumar alias Sanjeev 'Mukhiya', an alleged kingpin behind the NEET paper leak, was not only minting money but wanted to become an MP or MLA.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a fresh case in connection with alleged impersonation by four National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG), 2024 candidates in Bihar's Purnea, officials said on Wednesday.
Leaders of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) have decided to raise the NEET issue in both houses of Parliament on Friday and members will give notices in this regard, sources have said.
The statement implicated members of the Mukhiya gang, accused of orchestrating multiple interstate paper leaks, as the source of the leaked answer sheet.
As the CBI continues to probe into the NEET-UG paper leak case, career experts help us understand what the future holds for undergraduate medical aspirants.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested two persons including a key accused in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) paper leak case who allegedly stole the paper from a National Testing Agency's trunk in Hazaribagh in Jharkhand, officials said Tuesday.
It added that in any examination, there are competing rights that are created whereby the interests of a large number of students who have taken the examination without adopting any unfair means must not also be jeopardised.
The Centre on Saturday night announced that the probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET will be handed over to the CBI for a comprehensive investigation.
