Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Friday that any kind of irregularity in the conduct of competitive examinations like NEET-UG will not be tolerated. Along with this, he said that if any flaw or irregularity is found in it, then the accountability of the exam conducting agency NTA will also be fixed. Education Minister Pradhan said on the NEET controversy that the concerns of the students will be addressed with fairness and equality.
Pradhan's remarks came amid criticism by the opposition over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) this year. The Union minister accused the opposition of playing politics with the future of students and said it was important to carry out the counselling process on time.
Speaking to media persons, the Union Minister said, “The government is committed to protect the interests of NEET aspirants. I want to assure that the government will not tolerate any kind of irregularity and malpractice in the conduct of the medical exam. Anyone found involved in such malpractices and irregularities will be severely punished. The ministry will also fix the accountability of NTA (National Testing Agency). If any lapse is found at the agency's level, action will be taken against it. All the concerns of the students will be addressed without discrimination and with equality.”
Pradhan reiterated that there is no concrete evidence to prove the allegations of paper leak during the NEET-UG exam this year. He also met some NEET aspirants and their parents on Friday and heard their problems. The Union minister said that the NEET-UG exam was conducted at more than 4500 centres. Out of them, only six exam centres were reported to have distributed wrong question papers. He said, “Just because of six centres, we cannot question the sanctity and credibility of the entire examination system.”
On the increase in the number of top scorers and high scores in the NEET exam this year, Pradhan said that the increase in the number of candidates has increased the competition. He said that more than three lakh students have appeared in the NEET-UG exam this year as compared to last year. Apart from this, NTA has adjusted the question papers with the rational syllabus of NCERT and the syllabus of various state boards. This has made the exam even more simple for the students. Apart from this, more participation has also been seen from rural areas. When asked whether the government would take steps to bring some improvement in the way NTA conducts the entrance exam, Pradhan said, NTA is a capable agency. However, no institution is perfect and we constantly work on improving.
Earlier today, Pradhan wrote on 'X', “The Central Government is committed to ensure the interests of the candidates as per the order of the Supreme Court in the NEET exam case. I want to assure the candidates that no child's career will be tampered with. The facts related to this case are in the knowledge of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The government will take whatever necessary steps are to be taken as per the instructions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The counseling process of NEET is going to start and now there is a need to move forward in this direction without getting confused.”
Meanwhile, Congress media and publicity cell chief Pawan Khera on Friday said the NEET scam was Vyapam 2.0. “Can the education minister deny that a NEET-UG cheating racket has been busted in Godhra, Gujarat, involving three people, including a person running a coaching centre, a teacher and another person, in which investigation into the case has revealed transactions of over Rs 12 crore between students, their parents and the accused?” he asked.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also claimed that the Modi government has started “covering up the NEET scam” through Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the NTA. “If there was no paper leak in NEET – why were 13 accused arrested in Bihar due to paper leak? Has the Economic Offences Wing of Patna police not exposed transactions worth Rs 30 lakh to Rs 50 lakh between education mafia and organised gangs involved in the paper leak racket?” he said in a post on X.
Reacting to the Congress' allegations, Pradhan said, “Some people don't like this kind of examination system in the country…the government is working in a completely transparent manner and will continue to do so, let them say whatever they want to say for political reasons…the Congress party has taken the responsibility of spreading confusion in this country.”
