UGC-NET cancelled; integrity of exam 'compromised', says government
The Ministry of Education (MoE) late on Wednesday night announced the cancellation of the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET). This decision came just a day after over 9 lakh candidates appeared for it across 317 cities. According to reports, this came after inputs from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs that "the integrity of the examination may have been compromised."
Investigation handed over to the CBI
With this, UGC-NET—held for securing entry-level teaching jobs in Indian universities and for PhD admissions—becomes the first centrally-conducted public examination to be scrapped after the introduction of the new anti-paper leak law by the Centre. The MoE also announced that the investigation into the compromised exam inputs is being handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and information about the re-exam will be shared separately.
Compromise might have involved UGC-NET's first paper
The Ministry's statement said that the negative inputs on the UGC-NET was provided by the National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit—part of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs. While the statement did not detail the exact nature of the compromise, reports indicated that irregularities were detected at some exam centers. The cancellation of the exam for all 9,08,580 candidates suggests that the alleged compromise might have involved the first paper—which is the same for everyone.
What is UGC-NET
UGC-NET consists of two papers: the first paper, which is common to all candidates, and the second, which is subject-specific and varies according to the candidate's area of specialization. The second paper is available in 83 different subjects. UGC-NET is held twice annually, in June and December. Although the NTA has been administering this exam on behalf of the UGC in a computer-based format since December 2018, this year, it reverted to the pen-and-paper format.
Controversy over another NTA-conducted exam
This comes amid controversy surrounding NEET-UG 2024, another exam conducted by the NTA for undergraduate medical courses. Allegations of a question paper leak and grace marks awarded to over 1,500 students have triggered protests and court cases. "The issue related to grace marks has already been fully addressed...regards certain irregularities...in Patna, a detailed report has been sought from the Economic Offences Unit, Bihar Police. Government will take further action, on receipt of this report," the ministry has said in response.
