UGC-NET, cancelled day after it was held, to be held from Aug 21-Sept 4: NTA

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced fresh dates of the UGC-NET, which was cancelled and postponed, amid a raging row over alleged irregularities in their conduct. The UGC-NET will now be conducted afresh from August 21 to September 4.

The UGC-NET was cancelled a day after being conducted on June 18 after the education ministry received inputs that the integrity of the June session of the exam was compromised. Later, the CBI sources said that the UGC-NET paper was leaked 48 hours before the exam and the question paper was sold on the dark web for ₹6 lakh.

CBI sources told NDTV that the role of the coaching centres, where many aspirants enroll at significant expense to pass exams such as the NET, NEET, and civil service entrance tests, is also under scrutiny.

According to the reports, the UGC-NET will be computer-based. The UGC NET June 2024 session examination was held in Pen & paper or offline mode. The exam will now be held in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode.

The testing agency has announced that Joint CSIR-UGC NET, which was postponed, will be conducted from July 25-27. Fresh date for the NCET (National Common Entrance Test) 2024 exams was also released by the NTA. As per the issued notice, the NCET exams will be conducted on July 10.

The All India Ayush Post Graduate Entrance Test (AIAPGET) 2024 will be held as per the schedule, July 6, 2024.

The NEET (UG) 2024 Examination was conducted by the NTA on May 5, 2024, at 4,750 centres in 571 cities, including 14 cities abroad, with over 23 lakh candidates appearing for the examination. An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which led to widespread protests in the country.

The alleged “irregularities” in the UGC-NET, postponement of certain exams and paper leaks have triggered a number of protests across the country, giving ammunition to the Opposition which has charged the Central government of playing with the future of the country.

Amid the controversy surrounding the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered a criminal case on Sunday to investigate alleged irregularities in the conduct of the examinations by the NTA. Special teams have been formed to probe the matter.