New Delhi: The National Testing Agency on Monday denied allegations that the papers of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) exams were leaked and said the exam body’s security protocols and Standard Operating Procedures have ascertained that no papers were leaked.
“It has been ascertained from NTA's security protocols and Standard Operating Procedures that the Social Media Posts pointing towards any paper leak are completely baseless and without any ground. To put rumours to rest, it is also stated that every single Question Paper (QP) has been accounted for,” the NTA said in a release. It added that after the gates of the exam centres are closed, no one from outside is permitted access inside the halls, which are under CCTV surveillance.
The exam body added that there was one incident at a centre in Rajasthan’s Sawai Madhopur where some students forcibly took away the question papers before the exams ended; a picture of this paper is being linked to alleged incident of paper leak, the NTA said, terming it as “mischievous and preposterous”.
The posts on social media about the paper leaks led to Opposition leaders raising it; Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra posted about it on X. “There are reports of paper leaks of NEET exams once again, putting in jeopardy the future of 24 lakh youth of the country. This trend of playing with the futures of crores of promising youth has been going on for the last ten years. Will the Prime Minister say anything? To pacify the youth, a law was passed in Parliament; where is that law now, why is it not implemented,” her post read.
In its defence, the NTA said that it conducts post-exam data analysis to detect cases of unfair means. “Action on (these) cases is taken as per extant rules, which includes cancellation of candidature and debarment from future examinations,” it said.
Published 06 May 2024, 12:41 IST