UGC-NET 2024 seemed to have been ’compromised’, fresh date for exam to be announced soon, says Education ministry

Education ministry officials said on Thursday the fresh date for the UGC-NET examination 2024 will be announced soon. They said the exam was cancelled after "taking suo motu cognisance of available input s."

"No complaints were received about UGC-NET. The action was taken suo motu to safeguard interests of the students....Inputs prima facie indicated UGC-NET was compromised. Fresh date for exam to be announced soon," Education Ministry officials were quoted by news agency PTI as saying.

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The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the UGC-NET exams on June 18. “Nine lakh students had participated in the UGC-NET exam," an official said.

He informed that the UGC received some inputs from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Ministry of Home Affairs on June 19. “After checking that input, it prima facie appeared that…there was a chance that the examination had been compromised," the official said.

“The ministry has decided to cancel the examination. The next date will be declared soon,” he added.

CBI roped in

The official said the matter has been referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to take strict action in case of any foul play.

The ministry on Wednesday cancelled UGC-NET conducted by the NTA following inputs that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised.

The NTA is the same autonomous agency under the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education of India that conducts the NEET exams.

The decision by the Ministry comes amid a massive row on the medical entrance exam NEET over alleged irregularities, with the issue now before the Supreme Court.

On Thursday, the Supreme Court sought responses from the Centre, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and others on petitions, including those seeking the scrapping of NEET-UG 2024 exam and a court-monitored probe into the alleged irregularities in the medical entrance test.