UGC NET Exam Concluded Due To Issue Of Integrity

The UGC-NET exam held on June 19, 2024, for over 9 lakh candidates, has been cancelled by the Ministry of Education due to concerns over the integrity of the examination process, with the matter handed over to the CBI for investigation.

The Ministry of Education has cancelled the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) scheduled on June 19, 2024 over questions mark over the examination. More than 9 lakh candidates sit for the important examination, which tests the candidates for the assistant professor post and research fellowship.

This came only the next day after the pen-and-paper based exam was conducted at 1,205 centres in 317 cities. The Ministry on June 20th released a statement that it had received information from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit suggesting that the integrity of the exam had been compromised.

For the purpose of avoiding any compromise in the matter and to maintain the purest form of examination process the Ministry declared the said examination as cancelled and informed that the examination will be conducted again. This case has also been referred to the CBI for further probing into the matter.

Some rumors were reported that the question paper used for the exam was leaked before the examination was conducted. But the Ministry failed to provide details on the nature of the integrity issues arising from the projects.

The cancellation has prompted criticism: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has condemned government’s “laxity” and called for an accountability to be set for the lapse.

This is the second major nationwide examination to be tainted with controversy within recent weeks. The results of the NEET undergraduate medical entrance examination are already in controversy over alleged malpractices, and issuance of grace marks for some candidates.

Also Read: Anger over alleged malpractice of cheating in India’s most competitive medical entrance exam, NEET

UGC-NET is an important recruitment test held twice a year to assess one’s eligibility for the post of assistant professor along with the award of junior research fellowship for pursuing doctoral studies in 83 subjects. It has been canceled and more than 9 lakh candidates are waiting for fresh dates to be announced for the examination.