Education Ministry orders cancellations of UGC-NET after ‘exam integrity compromised’

New Delhi: The Education Ministry on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of UGC-NET conducted by the National Testing Agency following inputs that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised and the matter has been handed over to the CBI for a thorough investigation, officials said.

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.

In a shift from earlier practice, the National Eligibility Test (NET) was conducted in pen and paper mode this time on a single day -June 18- with a record 11 lakh students registering for the exam.

A fresh examination shall be conducted, for which information shall be shared separately, a senior Ministry of Education (MoE) official said.

UGC-NET is a test to determine the eligibility of Indian nationals for the award of junior research fellowship, for appointment as Assistant Professor and admission to PhD in Indian universities and colleges "The UGC received certain inputs from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs on the Examination. These inputs prima-facie indicate that the integrity of the aforesaid examination may have been compromised," the senior official said.

"To ensure the highest level of transparency and sanctity of the examination process, it has been decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 examination be cancelled.

"A fresh examination shall be conducted, for which information shall be shared separately. Simultaneously, the matter is being handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for thorough investigation in the matter," the official added.