The Education Ministry on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of UGC-NET conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) following inputs that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised.
UGC-NET is conducted twice a year by the NTA to determine the eligibility of candidates for the positions of ‘Assistant Professor’ and ‘Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor’ and for PhD admissions. The exam was conducted on June 18 at 1205 exam centres in 317 cities across the country. Over 11 lakh candidates appeared for the exam.
The NTA said the University Grants Commission (UGC) received certain inputs which indicated that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised. The matter is being handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for thorough investigation, the NTA said.
“Government is committed to ensure the sanctity of examinations and protect the interest of students,” the Ministry of Education said in a post on X.
“Ministry of Education has decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination be cancelled on the basis of inputs from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, prima facie indicating that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised,” it added.
It further said that a fresh examination should be conducted, for which details would be shared later.
The development comes at a time when the NTA is embroiled in a controversy over irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for medical and allied courses.
