Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday denied allegations of “paper leak” in the NEET-UG exam, saying that the government is ready to present its response to the Supreme Court, which is currently hearing petitions related to the examination.
Pradhan, who took charge as Union Education Minister for his second successive term on Thursday, told mediapersons that 24 lakh students have successfully taken the NEET examination.
“I want to assure the students and their parents that the Government of India and NTA are committed to providing justice to them. Twenty-four lakh students have successfully taken the NEET examination. There is no paper leak, no proof has been found yet. A court-recommended model was adopted for around 1560 students and a panel of academicians has been formed for the same…We will accept the verdict of the Court,” he said.
“There is no corruption. In connection with the NEET examination, 24 lakh students appear in the examination. A hearing in the Supreme Court is underway today and this issue is regarding around 1,500 students. Govt is ready to give answers to the Court. This specific issue is being taken into consideration and a committee of academicians has been formed. The Government will present this in front of the Court…NTA conducts 3 major examinations that is NEET, JEE and CUET successfully in the country…We will take action against the people responsible…,” he added.
Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary was also present at the press conference.
Answering queries, Pradhan said the system of two sets of question papers “is not a new practice”.
“It has been in practice for many years. The final set is decided on the day of the examination, just before the exam. In six centres, the wrong set was circulated which delayed the exam there, by 40 minutes. The issue pertains to that incident only. The practice of two sets of question papers didn’t appear suddenly,” he said.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Thursday told the Supreme Court that score-cards of 1563 candidates who got “grace marks” in the 2024 National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) exam will be cancelled and the candidates will have a chance to reappear for the exam.
(ANI)