The Centre on Saturday announced the formation of a high-level committee of experts to ensure the transparent, smooth, and fair conduct of examinations in the country amid the raging NEET controversy and nationwide protests by students seeking a probe into the exam. Authorities from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh have held several key individuals allegedly connected to the “paper leak”.
Here is a timeline of the events connected to this controversy that has created ripples across India’s education system:
May 5: The National Testing Agency conducted the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) on May 5 for 24 lakh students at 4,750 centres across 571 cities. There were allegations of paper leaks across centres during the exam but these were dismissed by the NTA and union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
The NTA and the government said that the question papers for Hindi and English medium were mixed at six centres, but this was rectified and students were given extra time to complete the NEET exam.
June 4: NTA declared the NEET UG 2024 results on the day of the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections 2024. Soon after, students and parents took to the streets to protest the unusual results and the awarding of grace marks to around 1,500 students. The protesters demanded a retest and re-evaluation of all marks after it was found that 67 students had topped the exam.
June 13: The matter reached the Supreme Court with multiple petitions seeking cancellation of the exams. In the first hearing, the SC sought the NTA’s response but refused to stay the NEET UG counselling process. The court was informed that the Centre had decided to revoke the grace marks awarded to 1,563 students. The government said that if the affected students wished to appear for a re-exam, it would be held on June 23. The results for those students will be declared before June 30 and the counselling will take place from July 6, it added.
June 18: The Supreme Court issued a notice to the NTA, seeking a response to the pleas in connection with the alleged paper leaks and malpractices. “If there is 0.001% negligence on the part of anyone, it should be thoroughly dealt with. Children have prepared for the exams. We cannot forget their labour,” the top court said.
June 19: The union education ministry cancelled the University Grants Commission–National Eligibility Test (NET) after concerns were raised about the exam’s integrity. The UGC-NET 2024 was conducted on June 18 across 317 cities. The government also ordered a CBI probe into the UGC-NET exam.
June 20: The Centre said it was forming a high-level committee to provide recommendations for enhancing the structure, processes, data management, and security protocols of the NTA.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a First Information Report (FIR) into the UGC-NET paper leak case against unidentified persons on a reference from the union education ministry, officials said.
Anurag Yadav, a 22-year-old NEET UG 2024 aspirant, was arrested by Bihar police after confessing that the leaked question paper he received matched the actual exam question paper. The arrest came as part of a larger investigation, which also saw four men from Bihar detained for allegedly accessing the exam paper a day before the test.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid the controversy, saying that the PM was more concerned about the Speaker’s election. A group of NEET aspirants along with their parents on Thursday met Rahul at his residence, to seek his support in demanding re-examination of the MBBS qualifying paper.
Also, Bihar’s deputy chief minister Vijay Kumar Sinha claimed the arrested prime accused in the NEET “paper leak” is linked to officials associated with RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav.
June 21: The Centre on Friday notified a stringent law, which was passed in February, to prevent paper leaks and cheating. Under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, any person or persons found guilty of leaking a paper or tampering with answer sheets will receive a minimum jail term of three years. This can be extended to five years with a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh. All offences under the Act will be cognisable and non-bailable.
The Supreme Court once again declined to stay the process of NEET-UG 2024 counselling. The apex court has issued a notice to the National Testing Agency (NTA). The top court tagged the fresh pleas along with pending petitions and posted them for hearing on July 8.
Delhi Congress workers on Friday held a demonstration near the BJP headquarters over the alleged irregularities in NEET 2024. The demonstration was led by Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav.
June 22: The ministry of education on Saturday announced a high-level committee of experts to ensure transparent smooth and fair conduct of examinations amid the NEET and UGC-NET row. The panel of experts will make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvement in data security protocols, and structure and functioning of the National Testing Agency. The panel will be headed by Dr K Radhakrishnan, former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) chairperson and the chairman of the board of governors, IIT Kanpur.
A key accused behind the NEET-UG 2024 exam paper leak, Ravi Atri, has been arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF). Atri, from Neemka village in Greater Noida, is known for his alleged involvement in previous exam paper leaks across various states. His modus operandi allegedly involved uploading solved question papers on social media platforms through a network known as the ‘solver gang’.
Bihar police detained six people from Jharkhand’s Deoghar district in connection with alleged irregularities surrounding the NEET medical entrance exam.
Stay ahead with all the exam results updates on News18 Website.
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