'Shut down NTA', chant NSUI members as they storm into NTA office over NEET row
NEW DELHI: Amid the raging row over NEET 2024 conduct, the Members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of Congress, stormed into the National Testing Agency (NTA) office in Okhla, demanding its closure.
According to a recent report by PTI, NSUI members raised slogans of "shut down NTA" as they filled the building. The protest was fueled by allegations of irregularities in the conduct of the NEET-UG exam.
The incident, captured in visuals shared by NSUI, showed numerous members vocally expressing their demands within the premises. There was no immediate response from NTA officials regarding the situation.
Ravi Pandey, National Chairman, Media Department of the NSUI, said that the idea behind the protest and storming the NTA office was to draw attention to the loss of faith in the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Pandey stated that the careers of lakhs of students had been put in jeopardy, and the lack of response from the Ministry of Education was baffling. He added that the government had postponed various exams following the leak of the UG-NET exam paper. “We still don’t know when the government will conduct a fresh test and what plan they have to stop similar leaks,” said Pandey.
In another incident on Thursday, the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) held a protest at Jantar Mantar, addressing the alleged rigging of the NEET-UG exam and voicing opposition to the Agniveer Scheme. IYC workers gathered with placards, raising slogans to highlight their concerns. The NEET-UG exam, held on May 5 at 4,750 centers, had its results announced on June 4, earlier than expected, due to the prompt evaluation of answer sheets. The perfect scores achieved by 67 students, including six from Faridabad, raised further doubts about the integrity of the examination process.
In a separate incident reflecting the uneasiness over the credibility of the National Testing Agency, a video went viral in India showing tin boxes stacked allegedly outside the NTA office. Following the circulation of videos on social media showing several trunks outside the National Testing Agency (NTA), claims were made that they contained answer sheets from the recent CUET-UG exam. The NTA has denied these allegations. The agency clarified that the boxes in the video were empty and held no sensitive materials.
In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), the NTA demonstrated that the boxes outside their examination hall were indeed empty. The agency emphasized that security personnel were present at the location where the boxes were stored.
The NTA captioned the video: "These are empty boxes kept outside the hall at NTA and do not contain any sensitive material. Contrary to media reports, we never leave these boxes in the open. Additionally, we have a sufficient number of security personnel deployed at the site."
This year's NEET UG 2024 exam was mired in controversies after a paper leak scam came to the light. Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that around 13 people, including four examinees and their family members, were arrested in Bihar for their alleged involvement in the paper leak of the NEET-UG exam. Patna police sources had previously claimed that the NEET-UG question papers along with their answers were provided to around 20 aspirants a day before the date of the exam i.e. May 5, 2024.
Then, the Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of Bihar Police, which took over the investigation, revealed that the brokers involved in the NEET paper leak scam took between Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh from each of the medical aspirants in exchange for giving them the question paper of the NEET UG 2024 question paper ahead of the examination.
Multiple pleas have been filed before the High Courts and the Supreme Court seeking an investigation into the alleged paper leak scam. Some of the pleas demanded the scrapping of the NEET UG 2024 exam and holding a retest. Meanwhile, during the case proceedings, NTA earlier decided to withdraw the grace marks awarded to 1563 candidates and hold an optional retest for those candidates. Those who did not opt for the retest were allowed to retain their original marks, without the grace marks.
The matter is now being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Central Government on June 22, 2024, handed over the charge of investigation in the alleged irregularities in the NEET UG 2024 examination to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
"Certain cases of alleged irregularities / cheating / impersonation / malpractices have been reported. For transparency on the conduct of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, Government of India after a review has decided to entrust the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for comprehensive investigation," the Ministry of Education stated in a release.
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