NEET: Minister vows action on guilty NTA officials
By : Avinash Prabhakar
Update: 2024-06-17 14:36 GMT
New Delhi: Amidst escalating controversy surrounding the NEET-UG 2024 results, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan vowed that if senior officials of the NTA are found complicit, strict action will be taken against them. “A lot of improvement is required in the NTA. The government is deeply concerned about this issue, and no culprit will be spared,” Pradhan affirmed.
Allegations of paper leaks and unfair examination practices have marred the NEET-UG exam, prompting serious scrutiny.
Meanwhile, the Congress party echoed concerns over the integrity of the NTA and the administration of NEET. Calling for a thorough investigation supervised by the Supreme Court, the party stressed the need for justice for affected students. In a statement posted on social media platform X, Congress criticised the Modi government, alleging negligence and evasion of responsibility regarding the leaked NEET paper.
"All these things have been confessed by the accused of paper leak, but the ministers of the Modi government are not ready to accept that the paper has been leaked," Congress stated. "24 lakh children of the country were wronged, their dreams were crushed, for which only the Modi government is responsible."
Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary, also raised concerns over NEET's fairness and its impact on students from diverse educational backgrounds. He recalled discussions during his tenure in the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare, noting apprehensions that NEET might favor CBSE students over those from non-CBSE schools, particularly in states like Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
"There are serious questions about the integrity of the National Testing Agency itself and the manner in which NEET is designed and administered," Ramesh emphasised. He further criticised the NCERT, alleging a decline in professionalism over the past decade.
The NEET-UG 2024 controversy continues to fuel debates across political and educational spheres, raising fundamental questions about fairness and transparency in national entrance examinations.