A day after more than 9 lakh candidates took the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) in 317 cities, the Ministry of Education (MoE) announced late on Wednesday night that it was being cancelled due to concerns raised by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs regarding “the integrity of the examination may have been compromised.”

With this decision, UGC-NET—which is essential for obtaining a teaching position at the entry level in Indian institutions as well as for admission to PhD programs—becomes the first publicly administered test that is centrally administered to be discontinued following the introduction of a new anti-paper leak regulation by the Centre.

The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair methods) Act, which was passed by Parliament in February 2024 and stipulates that anybody found guilty of “resorting to unfair means and offences” might face a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh and three to five years in prison, would most likely apply to this test, according to sources.

The Ministry of Education further declared that details of the re-test will be disclosed separately, and that the CBI will take up the probe into the compromised exam inputs.

Senior officials of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which administers UGC-NET on behalf of the UGC and is already under fire for alleged irregularities in the administration of the NEET undergraduate exam—the single-window exam for admission to all MBBS programmes in the nation—were taken aback by the ministry’s decision.

#neet #aiims #mbbs #medical #biology #doctor #neetpreparation #medicalstudent #jee #neetug #neetexam #medico #medicine #chemistry #cbse #science #education #physics #futuredoctor #kota #kotacoaching #doctors #jeemains #neetmotivation #jipmer #iit #neetcoaching #neetaspirants #mbbsstudent #neetpg