NEET Controversy: NTA Chief Ousted, CBI-ED to enter Into Paper Leak Case—Top 10 Updates!

NEET Controversy: There is a lot of uproar in the country regarding the NEET exam conducted for admission to medical courses. There is talk of paper leak since the result came out. Students are demanding that the exam be cancelled and conducted again. Meanwhile, the government has also cancelled many exams. The government is also under fire due to allegations of paper leak. In such a situation, let us know about the 10 big updates so far on the NEET controversy. 

1- Amid the controversy over the NEET paper leak, the government has postponed the NEET-PG entrance exam. The NEET-PG exam was scheduled to be held on Sunday (23 June). The Union Health Ministry has postponed the NEET-PG exam a night before the exam as a precautionary measure. 

2- Subodh Singh, Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA), the organization that conducts the NEET exam, has been removed. The government has decided to remove Subodh Singh amid the controversy over the paper leak. He has been placed on ‘compulsory waiting’ in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) until further orders. 

3- NTA, which comes under the Ministry of Education, is one of the major institutions of the country. This is why after removing Subodh Singh, its responsibility has been given to Pradeep Singh Kharola, Chairman and Managing Director of India Trade Promotion Organization (ITPO). He will take charge of NTA till the appointment of a regular officer. 

4- The image of NTA has been tarnished due to paper leak cases. In such a situation, the Ministry of Education has constituted a seven-member committee under the chairmanship of former head of ‘Indian Space Research Organization’ (ISRO) K. Radhakrishnan to review the functioning of NTA and recommend examination reforms. 

5- The committee includes former AIIMS Delhi director Randeep Guleria, Hyderabad Central University vice-chancellor BJ Rao, professor emeritus of the civil engineering department at IIT Madras K Ramamurthy, co-founder of People Strong and Karmayogi Bharat board member Pankaj Bansal, IIT Delhi’s Dean of Student Affairs Aditya Mittal and education ministry joint secretary Govind Jaiswal.

6- After the NEET paper leak, the responsibility of investigating it has been handed over to the CBI. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that we are in favor of conducting a transparent and error-free examination. Strict action has been taken against the officials and the case has been handed over to the CBI. 

7- According to a PTI report, the education ministry is going to stick to its stance that there is no need to cancel the NEET exam based on the evidence obtained by the Bihar police regarding the paper leak. The police say that the investigation has revealed that the alleged paper leak in Patna is a local matter.

8- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also going to enter the NEET paper leak case. The ED can investigate the money laundering angle regarding the alleged irregularities in NEET. A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court demanding that the NEET paper leak case be investigated by the CBI and ED. 

9- The government has also implemented a strict law to prevent paper leak. The Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 has been notified. Under this law, there is a provision of maximum 10 years of jail and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore for the offenders for leaking the paper. 

10- Amid the paper leak, the UGC-NET exam has also been cancelled. Dharmendra Pradhan denied the CSIR-NET paper leak and said that the exam has been postponed for logical reasons. The government has said that the dates for the exam will be announced soon.

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