First Public Exam Scrapped Under New Anti-Paper Leak Law

The Ministry of Education (MoE) announced late Wednesday the cancellation of the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET), affecting over 9 lakh candidates who had appeared for the examination across 317 cities just a day prior. The decision followed inputs from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, which indicated that the integrity of the examination had likely been compromised. This move makes UGC-NET the first centrally-conducted public examination to be scrapped after the Centre introduced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act in February 2024. This new law, which aims to prevent exam malpractices, mandates strict penalties, including three to five years of imprisonment and fines up to Rs 10 lakh for those found guilty of cheating and other offenses.

 The MoE's announcement also revealed that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would handle the investigation into the reported irregularities. Details regarding the rescheduled examination will be shared separately, according to the ministry. Senior officials from the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts UGC-NET on behalf of the University Grants Commission (UGC), were taken by surprise by the MoE's decision. The NTA is already under scrutiny for alleged irregularities in the conduct of the NEET undergraduate exam, the single-window test for admissions to MBBS programs across the country.

 The adverse inputs about UGC-NET were received from the National Cybercrime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, under the Ministry of Home Affairs. Although the official statement did not provide specific details on how the exam's integrity was compromised, sources indicated that irregularities were observed at several exam centers.

 This year's decision to conduct both CUET-UG (partially) and UGC-NET June 2024 in a pen-and-paper format, as opposed to the usual computer-based testing conducted in multiple shifts, was aimed at facilitating the selection of more examination centers in rural areas. The MoE’s decision to cancel the exam underscores the government's commitment to maintaining the integrity of public examinations in the wake of the new anti-paper leak law.