NEET UG paper leak: NTA calls reports baseless; Congress attacks BJP

“To put rumours to rest, it is also stated that every single question paper has been accounted for,” said Sadhana Parashar, Senior Director, NTA.

Parashar said that no external person or agency can access the centres once the examination starts.

She said that after the gates of the examination centres are closed, no one from outside is permitted access inside the halls, which are under CCTV surveillance.

“All other photographs of question papers circulating in social media have no relation to the actual examination question paper which has been administered,” she added.

Alleged ‘leak’

The NTA had on Sunday, 5 May, claimed that the distribution of wrong question papers at an exam centre in Rajasthan led to some candidates walking out with the papers. The agency had denied any leak of the question paper.

“The integrity of the examination process was not compromised. The exam was later reconducted for the 120 affected candidates at the centre,” Parashar had said on Sunday.

According to NTA sources, some candidates were distributed question papers in languages other than their choice of medium which prompted them to walk out of the centre.

“During the NEET-UG examination, it came to attention that at one exam centre, Girls Higher Secondary Model School, Mantown, Sawai Madhopur, there was an incident of incorrect distribution of question papers by the centre superintendent. Despite efforts by invigilators to prevent it, some candidates left the exam centre with the question papers,” Parashar said.

“In order to uphold the principles of fairness and equal opportunity for all candidates, the NTA has taken proactive measures. The examination of approximately 120 affected candidates at the centre is being conducted today, ensuring that their academic aspirations are not hindered by this incident,” she added.

Several social media posts alleged the question paper was leaked. The NTA, however, denied any possibility of a leak.

The NTA, however, admitted that there have been cases of malpractice and impersonation and strict action has been taken against the involved candidates.

“NTA also conducts post-exam data analysis to detect cases of unfair means, action on which is taken as per rules including cancellation of candidature and debarment from future examinations,” the official said.

NEET-UG 2024

This year, a record 24 lakh candidates registered for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test – Undergraduate (NEET-UG), of which over 10 lakh were male students, over 13 lakh were girls and 24 students registered under the third gender category.

Region-wise, Uttar Pradesh had registered the highest number of candidates at 3,39,125, followed by Maharashtra at 2,79,904 and Rajasthan at 1,96,139. Tamil Nadu saw 1,55,216 registrations and Karnataka 1,54,210.

In 2023, a total of 20,87,449 candidates had registered for NEET-UG and the exam was held on May 7. The NTA had recorded 97.7 percent attendance in the exam.

The entrance exam was conducted on Sunday at 4,750 centres in 571 cities including 14 cities abroad.

Also Read: Congress asks PM Modi to break his ‘silence’ on Prajwal Revanna sexual abuse case

Congress attacks BJP

However the Congress on Monday slammed the BJP over the issue of examination paper leaks. They said this trend has been going on for the last 10 years and that is why unemployment and corruption in jobs are the biggest issues in this election.

Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said the news of the NEET exam paper leak is a “betrayal” of the dreams of more than 23 lakh students and their families.

In a post in Hindi on X, Gandhi said, “Be it the students who dream of getting admission in college after passing 12th or the promising youth who are struggling for government jobs, the Modi government has become a curse for everyone.”

“The youth and their family, who have been paying the price of the BJP government’s incompetence for the last 10 years with the destruction of their future, have now understood that there is a difference between speaking and running the government,” he said.

The Congress has resolved to free the youth from paper leaks by making strict laws, Gandhi said and added that a healthy and transparent environment for students is the party’s guarantee.

NEET परीक्षा का पेपर लीक होने की खबर 23 लाख से अधिक छात्र-छात्राओं और उनके परिवारों के सपनों के साथ धोखा है।

12वीं पास कर कॉलेज में दाखिले का सपना संजोए छात्र हों या सरकारी नौकरी के लिए संघर्ष कर रहे होनहार युवा, हर किसी के लिये मोदी सरकार अभिशाप बन चुकी है।

10 वर्षों से भाजपा…

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 6, 2024

‘Future of youth at stake’

In a post in Hindi on X, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said, “Once again there are reports of NEET paper leak. The future of 24 lakh youth of the country was again at stake. This trend, which has been going on with crores of promising youth for the last 10 years, is showing no sign of stopping. Will the Prime Minister of the country say anything on this?” she said.

Noting that a law against paper leaks was passed in Parliament, the Congress general secretary asked where is that law and why is it not applicable.

“That is why unemployment and corruption in jobs are the biggest issues of this election. Our Nyay Patra resolves that paper leaks will stop. Recruitment will come out as per the calendar. The vacant posts will be filled. This playing with the future of the youth will stop and we will do this,” she asserted.

एक बार फिर से NEET का पेपर लीक होने की खबरें आ रही हैं। देश के 24 लाख युवाओं के भविष्य के साथ फिर से खिलवाड़ हुआ। पिछले दस बरसों से करोड़ों होनहार युवाओं के साथ चल रहा यह सिलसिला बंद होने का नाम नहीं ले रहा है। क्या देश के प्रधानमंत्री इस पर कुछ कहेंगे? युवाओं को बहलाने के लिए…

— Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (@priyankagandhi) May 6, 2024

 ’70+ paper leaks in 7 years’

Congress general secretary, in-charge communications, Jairam Ramesh, said news of NEET paper leak has come to light in Bihar.

“Apart from this, there have also been complaints from Rajasthan about wrong sets of question papers of NEET exam being distributed at the examination centres,” he said.

“In the last 7 years, more than 70 papers have been leaked. Due to this, the future of more than 2 crore candidates has been ruined. Despite there being laws regarding paper leaks in many states, papers are being leaked,” he said.

Citing some examples, Ramesh said 3.75 lakh candidates had participated in the teacher recruitment examination in Bihar on 15 March but within a few days, the exam had to be cancelled due to paper leak.

“60 lakh candidates took part in the UP Police examination on February 17 and 18. On February 24, the Yogi government had to cancel the examination due to paper leak,” he said.

Ramesh pointed out that one of the five ‘Yuva Nyay’ guarantees are ‘Paper Leak Se Mukti’.

“Merely punishing the culprits involved in the paper leak is not enough. Our aim is to prevent any paper from being leaked,” he said.

“Our laws will ensure the highest standards of honesty and fairness at every stage of the examination process — from paper setting, printing, transportation, administration and inspection — for paper-based and computer-based examinations,” he said.

“For the youth who spend years preparing for these exams, and spend time and money hoping for a better future, it is important to ensure that the papers are not leaked. Freedom from paper leaks is our commitment to every hard working candidate,” Ramesh asserted.

Also Read: Won’t withdraw NEET even if we die, says Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai

(With PTI inputs)