The Ministry said on Wednesday that the UGC-NET, conducted by the National Testing Agency, will be cancelled due to concerns over the exam’s integrity. This judgement came after a major issue involving the medical entrance exam NEET, which is currently being investigated for suspected irregularities and is now before the Supreme Court.
On June 20, a day after the UGC-NET was cancelled, Education Ministry officials declared that there had been no formal complaints about the exam. They did, however, take aggressive actions to protect students’ interests based on the facts provided.
Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary of the Education Ministry, indicated that particular information of the inputs could not be shared because the case had been brought to the CBI for inquiry.
“Although no complaints were received, the inputs from agencies suggested that the exam’s integrity had been compromised. We took suo motu action to safeguard the students’ interests,” Jaiswal said.
“A fresh date for the exam will be announced soon,” Mr. Jaiswal told reporters.
Amidst political statements, security concerns, and ongoing investigations, aspirants expressed deep dissatisfaction over the cancellation of the examination. This frustration was particularly pronounced given the unique challenges they faced in attending the exam this time compared to past experiences.
Between Job, Eid, and the NET Exam
Haris, a media professional, works 8 hours a day and devotes the rest of his time to his studies. To sharpen his skills for the test, he took a week off from work, compromising his job to prepare for the NET exam with the dream of pursuing his PhD.
“Why am I working more than the human mind is capable of? Why am I away from home without any Eid celebrations? For those vicious scams?” asks Haris, who couldn’t celebrate the Eid with his family and fulfill his share of responsibilities during the busy day of Eid. Unable to visit his hometown for Eid, his elderly parents were left to do all the hard work alone. Irrespective of making those sacrifices to follow his dream, NTA left no stone unturned for his vanishing dreams and tormented hopes.
All Miles for nothing
Accompanied by her parents, Saara, a resident of Central Kolkata, traveled to Baduria, a remote area 7 km from the Bangladesh border. She felt anxious about the trip, as many of her friends had warned her that the area was delicate. Saara left her home at 9 AM to attend an exam scheduled for 3 PM and returned home by midnight. Unlike her previous two attempts for the examination, this examination was full of challenges.
“I have put in a lot of effort for this exam, not just yesterday but for many months now. I can’t muster the strength to study again when there’s no guarantee that this won’t happen again, considering the unreliable system of the NTA,” says Saara. She has been balancing her freelancing career in writing with part-time teaching at a tuition center to avoid full-time jobs so as to keep studying for the NET examination.
Career in Jeopardy
During the peak of celebrations on Eid in Kashmir, there were significant drawbacks, such as the absence of public transport, making it nearly impossible for students to travel to their exam centres, which were often far from their homes. This was the case for Adil Manzoor, a resident of Budgam, J&K, who had to travel almost three hours to reach his exam centre in Beehama, Ganderbal.
“I, along with a friend, left at 9 in the morning and reached the centre by 12:30. I was already too exhausted to fully concentrate on the exam paper. Somehow, I gathered the strength to complete this important exam,” says Adil, who didn’t choose Ganderbal as his examination centre, not even as a last resort. He also emailed the NTA to inquire about the reluctance to assign him the wrong centre but received no reply.
Adil left his job a few months ago to prepare for the NET examination. His next plans included pursuing a PhD or finding another job, but now the negligence by NTA has left him uncertain about which path to take, putting his career in jeopardy.
Exams are Cost-Driven and Unaffordable For Many
Huda shares her challenging experience of taking exams during Delhi’s scorching heat. Despite requesting a center in Delhi, Ghaziabad was decided for her, resulting in a long and expensive commute.
“I thought being indoors would provide relief from the heat, but even the coolers weren’t working. Many of my friends had only fans in their examination rooms,” Huda explained. She expressed her frustration with the unreliable system, favouring a return to online examinations to prevent potential question paper leaks which are more possible in pen-and-paper tests. Huda also voiced concern for economically needy students, who might not afford multiple exam fees.
Outrage and Protests
Many student organisations including J&K Students Association Have called for a ban on NTA while appealing Supreme Court-monitored Investigation into Irregularities in UGC NET. In addition, Members of the student unions stage protest the day after the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancels UGC-NET June 2024 exam, citing concerns about ‘exam integrity’.
AISA members held protests outside Shastri Bhawan over NEET and UGC-NET issues. Led by national president Varun Choudhary, several members of the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) were detained on Thursday during a protest outside Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s residence in response to the cancellation of the UGC-NET examination.
Syed Ekram Rizwi, Joint Secretary (Admin) Ministry of Education said, “You can give your memorandum, I will give it to the Union Education Minister. We are committed to resolving your grievances. If you want, a small delegation can meet our officials.”
While speaking with FoEJ Media, Dibyajyoti Tripathi, Vice-president of NSUI condemned the detention of students, suggesting it is a strategy to suppress dissent against the government.
“There is a vicious cycle within the system right now. Exams encounter issues, students commit suicide, organizations write about it, and the cycle continues.”
Dibyajyoti criticized the government for deteriorating its own credibility. “This is a deliberate effort to tarnish the image of government organizations so they can eventually be handed over to private entities,” he said, expressing concern that people are increasingly losing faith in government institutions.
Criticism by the Political Leaders
Rahul Gandhi, the Congress leader, has questioned the Union Education Minister’s recent clean chit given to the National Testing Agency (NTA) in relation to the NEET examination. “They lack credibility on these areas. If they deliver a clean chit, it is meaningless; their credibility is nothing. “Everyone knows that the epicentres are Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh,” he said.
In a harsh critique of the administration, Gandhi accused the RSS-BJP of seizing educational institutions, which he alleges has resulted in ongoing document leaks. “Paper leaks will not stop unless that is reversed,” he said during a media briefing.
Gandhi further blamed the government’s silence on these matters to the Prime Minister’s incapacitation. He said that the PM’s main agenda right now is the election of the Speaker. “He is more concerned about his government and the Speaker. The PM has psychologically collapsed and will struggle to run a government like this. Mr. Modi’s idea of running the government is to generate fear in people. But now people are not scared of him. The basic concept of Modi has been destroyed in this election,” he remarked.”
Gandhi compared past Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh, claiming that they possessed virtues such as humility, respect, and conciliation that Narendra Modi lacked.
Gandhi also criticised the Prime Minister for his incapacity or desire to prevent exam paper leaks. “It was being said PM Modi stopped the Ukraine-Russia War, but he is either not able to stop exam paper leaks or doesn’t want to,” he concluded.
Shashi Tharoor also criticizes the government over NEET and UGC-NET exam issues. He said, “It’s shocking. It really shows something fundamentally rotten in the way in which the system is functioning…This is a terrible situation and the government has to get its act together. Because now that they have taken on the responsibility of creating a National Testing Agency and providing these kinds of national examinations and requiring these examinations then they’ve got to be conducted in a more objective manner. And this ridiculous practice of paper leaks ought to be punished very stringently.”
