Probe into alleged irregularities in NEET-UG handed over to CBI: Education Ministry
New Delhi: 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.
The development came amid a flurry of decisions over alleged irregularities in competitive exams, including the removal of National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Subodh Singh and setting up of a seven-member panel headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan for exam reforms.
“Certain cases of alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation and malpractices have been reported in NEET-UG which was conducted on May 5.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) had conducted the NEET-UG on May 5 in pen and paper mode and announced its results on June 4.
The medical entrance examination was taken by around 2.4 million students across 4,750 centres across the country. As many as 67 students scored a perfect score of 720, unprecedented in the NTA’s history, with six from a single centre in Faridabad figuring in the list, raising suspicions about rigging.
“Certain cases of alleged irregularities, cheating, impersonation, and malpractices have been reported in NEET-UG, which was conducted on May 5,” the ministry said in its statement.
The move to hand over the case to the CBI comes after a flurry of decisions over alleged irregularities in conducting national-level competitive exams, including the removal of NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh and the formation of a seven-member high-level committee to oversee transparency and look into the functioning of the testing agency.
The CBI is also investigating the breach of integrity that led to the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam after several questions were found to be leaked on the darknet.
The Centre on Friday also operationalised the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, aiming to curb malpractices and irregularities in competitive exams. The act entails provisions for a maximum jail term of ten years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for offenders.
The education ministry added that the government is committed to ensuring the sanctity of examinations and protecting the interests of students.
