Page 5 - Neet Row

NEET row sparks uproar in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi's mic switched off

The Congress party on Friday moved adjournment motions in both Houses, demanding an urgent discussion on the NEET debacle

Lok Sabha adjourned for day amid Oppn uproar over NEET; MPs storm the well

Speaker Om Birla and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju told opposition members that they can discuss the matter during the course of the Motion of Thanks on the President's address

Centre's panel on exam reforms seeks stakeholders' suggestions till July 7

The Centre's high-level panel on examination reforms has sought suggestions and feedback from stakeholders, including students and parents, till July 7, Ministry of Education officials said on Friday. Amid a raging row on alleged irregularities in exams, the panel headed by former ISRO chief R Radhakrishnan has been tasked with making recommendations on reforms in the examination process, enhancing data security protocols, and reviewing the structure and operations of the National Testing Agency (NTA). "The committee is seeking suggestions, views and ideas from stakeholders, particularly students and parents, from June 27 to July 7, 2024. The suggestions can be submitted using mygov platform," a senior MoE official said. In the line of fire over the alleged irregularities in medical entrance examination NEET and PhD entrance NET, the Centre had last week notified the panel to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the NTA. While NEET is under scanner ov

Govt, Oppn must together allay students' concerns: Rahul on NEET row

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to hold a "respectful" and good discussion in Parliament on the issue of alleged irregularities in the conduct of the NEET exam as it concerns the country's youth and their future. Addressing reporters in Parliament complex, Gandhi said the NEET issue should be discussed before the Motion of Thanks on the President's address is taken up. The NEET issue is the most important issue of the day, and the opposition parties have agreed that it should be taken up for discussion before anything else, the Congress leader told reporters. "The youth are worried and they do not know what is going to happen. A message and assurance should go to the youth from Parliament that India's government and the opposition are together in raising the concerns of students," he said. Gandhi said the INDIA bloc thinks this is the most important matter. "I request the prime minister that since this is an issue ...

NEET row: NTA's response on time limit to raise OMR sheet grievances

A vacation bench of Justices Manoj Misra and SVN Bhatti issued a notice and sought the NTA's response by July 8, the date of the next hearing

NEET-UG exam row: NSUI members barge into NTA office, demand its closure

Members of NSUI, Congress's students wing, barged inside the office of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is at the centre of NEET-UG row over allegations of alleged irregularities in the conduct of the exam. National Students Union of India (NSUI) members barged inside the testing agency's office here in Okhla, raising slogans of "shut down NTA". There was no immediate reaction from officials of the NTA about the incident. Visuals from the scene shared by NSUI showed scores of its members raising slogans inside the building of the NTA. The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET-UG was conducted by the NTA on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates taking part in it. The results were announced on June 4, but they were followed by allegations of question paper leaks in states such as Bihar, besides other irregularities.

Uddhav demands complete farm loan waiver, implementation before Maha polls

Addressing a press conference, he also termed the monsoon session of the state legislature that commenced on Thursday

Govt committed to fair investigation in paper leaks, says President Murmu

The government is fully committed to a fair investigation in the recent incidents of paper leaks and ensure that the guilty are punished, President Droupadi Murmu said on Thursday, asserting there is a need to rise above party politics and undertake concrete measures nationwide. In her address to the joint sitting of Parliament, Murmu said the government is working towards major reforms in all aspects of exam process and the functioning of examination-related bodies. Addressing the 18th Lok Sabha for the first time, the president said the examination process requires complete transparency and probity, whether it is competitive examinations or government recruitment tests. As she mentioned steps taken by the government on the education front, some opposition members were heard shouting "NEET", the medical entrance exam whose question paper was allegedly leaked according to an investigation by the Bihar Police. "Whether it is competitive examinations or government recruitment, there

NEET-UG 2024: Experts call for use of AI, computer-based testing for exam

Education experts have suggested implementing computer-based testing, scheduling exams over multiple days and shifts, and using artificial intelligence to ensure unique question papers

NEET-UG 2024: Maharashtra police uncover Bihar-linked admit cards in Latur

Investigations in Maharashtra have uncovered that parents of NEET-UG 2024 aspirants allegedly paid between Rs 5,00,000 and Rs 7,00,000 to suspects to secure better exam scores for their children

NEET-UG: CBI collects phones, burnt question paper from police; updates

The CBI collected evidence from Bihar's Economic Offences Unit (EOU), which includes a partially burnt question paper, mobile phones, laptops, and post-dated cheques

NEET-UG: 48% students skip retest; what happens to their scorecard now?

NEET-UG 2024: The NTA granted grace marks to over 1,500 candidates to compensate for time lost due to delayed start of exam at six centres. Following a SC order, they were asked to appear for a retest

Bihar govt issues notification regarding handing over NEET case to CBI

This comes after the central government entrusted the CBI with the matter of alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG exam in 2024 for a comprehensive investigation

2 days after postponing NEET-PG, health ministry reviews exam process

Top officials from the Union health ministry on Monday reviewed the process of the NEET-PG exam, two days after the entrance examination to postgraduate medical courses was postponed. The National Eligibility Entrance Test (Postgraduate) entrance examination is conducted by the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), along with its technical partner Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), for medical students. The government on Saturday postponed the NEET-PG entrance examination, scheduled to be held on June 23, as a "precautionary measure" in the wake of recent allegations on the integrity of certain competitive exams. The Monday meeting was held to check the "robustness" of the system for the conduct of the exam in the coming days, sources said. It was learnt that the TCS top brass briefed about the various aspects of the exam procedure that is followed in the meeting. "The process of uploading the NEET-PG exam paper starts an hour before the exam is to be held. Thi

Anti-paper leak law: Centre mandates NRA to prepare SOPs for tests

The Centre on Monday made public the rules under the recently-notified anti-paper leak law, mandating the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) to prepare norms, standards and guidelines for the computer-based tests among others. The rules were notified within days of operationalising The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 -- the first-ever national law against the use of unfair means to rig recruitment exams conducted by various public bodies. The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Bill, 2024 was passed by Rajya Sabha on February 9 and Lok Sabha passed it on February 6. President Droupadi Murmu gave approval to the bill on February 12, turning it into a law. The Act aims to prevent unfair means in the public examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the railways, banking recruitment examinations and the NTA among others. It has provisions for a minimum of three to five years of ...

CBI team reaches Godhra to probe irregularities in NEET-UG exam

A CBI team reached Godhra city in Gujarat's Panchmahal district on Monday to investigate the case of alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG medical entrance exam held on May 5, officials said. A case was registered by the Godhra police on May 8 under various Indian Penal Code sections, including criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust, for allegedly trying to help 27 candidates clear the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) for a sum of Rs 10 lakh each. Superintendent of Police, Panchmahal, Himanshu Solanki said a team of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) reached Godhra and met local police officers. "We will extend all the support they need to investigate the case," he said. The CBI on Sunday filed a fresh FIR against unidentified persons under IPC sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating), among others, amid countrywide protests and litigation by students for a probe into the paper leak claims. Gujarat's home department o

Rajasthan HC notice to Centre, NTA on plea for NEET-UG cancellation, retest

The Rajasthan High Court issued notices to the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the Centre on Monday, asking them to respond to petitions seeking the cancellation of the medical entrance exam NEET-UG amid allegations of irregularities. The court scheduled the hearing in the matter on July 10, two days after the Supreme Court is set to hear similar petitions, including those seeking cancellation of the NEET-UG 2024 exam and a court-monitored investigation. Justice Ashok Kumar Jain of the high court issued the notices to the NTA and the central government and sought their response. The court considered the matter to be serious and scheduled the hearing on July 10, counsel for petitioners Rampratap Saini said. He said a hearing was held on four petitions in the high court during the day. The petitioners have demanded the cancellation of the entrance exam and a retest, citing alleged irregularities reported in the conduct of the test held on May 5.

PM should have spoken on NEET issue, 'exam pe charcha' overdue: Omar

National Conference leader Omar Abdullah on Monday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi should have spoken over the NEET row instead of attacking the opposition on the first day of Parliament session. "While attacking the opposition is the prerogative of the Hon PM & we wouldn't expect BJP being humbled in the recent polls to change that, it would have been in the fitness of things for the Hon PM to spare a few words for the young men & women for whom the #NEET scandal is the only issue that matters," he said on X. "Exam pe charcha isn't a one off but a long term commitment to the interests & concerns of students," Abdullah said. He was responding to the prime minister's remarks in Parliament premises on the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha. "People expect good steps from the opposition but it has been disappointing so far," the prime minister had said in Parliament premises. "India needs a responsible opposition and people want substance not slogans. They want debate, ...

NEET row: Cong attacks Centre, says no action against NTA chairman

The Congress on Monday alleged that there has been no action against chairman of the National Testing Agency (NTA) P K Joshi, who is "holding interviews" for appointment of VCs and Directors of premier educational institutes across the country. Congress leader Pawan Khera claimed that last week, Joshi interviewed candidates for the post of Vice Chancellor of Mahatma Gandhi University Wardha and today he will interview candidates for directorship of the prestigious Indian Institute for Advanced Study (Shimla). He asked whether it was true that the candidates to be interviewed for the coveted post in the institutes are Sanjeev Kumar Sharma and Rajnish Kumar Shukla. "Despite NTA being in the eye of a self created storm, not only has there been no action against its chairman, PK Joshi, he quietly continues to hold interviews for appointment of VCs and Directors at premier educational institutions," Khera said in a post on X. "Should NTA/PK Joshi be allowed to be part of any such select

NEET-UG 2024: Legal battle heats up, SC denies urgent probe request

The Supreme Court declined to immediately hear a plea seeking CBI and ED investigation into alleged NEET-UG 2024 irregularities