New Delhi, June 21 (Agency) Drawing flak for UGC NET paper cancellation and NEET paper leak, the Central government on Thursday took “moral responsibility” for the irregularities and announced a high-level panel would be formed on the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA). “Recommendations will be expected from that high-level committee to further improve NTA, its structure, functioning, examination process, transparency and data security protocol,” Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said. On the issue of the alleged NEET paper leak in Bihar, Pradhan said, “We are in touch with the Bihar government about the NEET UG paper leak case. A full report will be made available soon. All offenders will be punished.” The Minister assured everybody that the government was committed to protecting the students’ interests. “I want to assure everyone that the government is committed to protecting the interests of students. We will not compromise on transparency” he said.
Pradhan’s remark came hours after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the government and the Prime Minister over the issue. He emphasised, “Don’t let isolated incidents affect the careers of students.” On Gandhi’s statement regarding NEET issue & UGC-NET exam cancellation, Pradhan said, “I will again appeal to my opposition friends to have faith in our system.” He further added, “Our government is 100 percent committed to transparency, to the betterment of the future of our students. And I assure you again, no malpractice, no irregularity will be tolerated by our government.” The Minister said some irregularities have come to the notice of the government. “We take moral responsibility for it….By taking responsibility, we have to rectify the system”. On the issue of UGC NET exam cancellation, Pradhan revealed that the UGC-NET examination paper was leaked on Darknet, leading to its cancellation. “Soon after it was clear that the UGC-NET question paper on Dark Net matches the original question paper of UGC-NET, we decided to cancel the examination,” he said. The students are demanding a ban on the exam conducting body National Testing Agency (NTA) and a probe into the alleged paper leak.