Centre cancelled UGC-NET the day after the exam, citing compromised exam integrity

While the NEET controversy continues to escalate, the Ministry of Education has decided to cancel the UGC-NET exam conducted by the National Testing Agency, just one day after its administration. More than 900,000 candidates participated in the examination for Assistant Professor positions in universities and colleges, as well as to assess qualification for junior research fellowships.

The government's announcement led to a quick response from Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who criticized the government for its lack of seriousness and urged for accountability to be established. The Education Ministry announced that the UGC-NET June exam was carried out on Tuesday in OMR mode in two shifts nationwide, according to a statement.

On 19th June 2024, the University Grants Commission (UGC) was provided with specific information by the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the Examination. It was stated that based on these initial inputs, it appears that the integrity of the mentioned examination may have been compromised.

The ministry stated that the June 2024 exam would be canceled to guarantee the examination process's transparency and integrity. A new date for the exam will be announced at a later time. Reports of the exam paper being leaked have surfaced, but the ministry has not confirmed this. It was mentioned that the issue has been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation for further inquiry.

The UGC-NET is held biannually, in June and December.