NEET-UG row: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announces panel to probe issues pertaining to NTA

New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday announced the formation of a high-level committee to probe into the issues pertaining to the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) amid the allegations of irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.

"We are committed to holding zero-error exams, and a high-level committee is being formed to improve NTA functioning," Pradhan said at a briefing.

"The government is going to form a high-level committee which will be investigating several issues pertaining to the NTA. Recommendations will be expected from that high-level committee to further improve NTA, its structure, functioning, examination process, transparency and data security protocol. We are committed to zero error exam,"Pradhan said at a press conference after the Opposition demanded answers from the Modi-led government over NEET issue and UGC-NET exam cancellation.

The Education Minister said that it will not compromise on transparency and is committed to protecting the interests of the students.

"...I want to assure everyone that the government is committed to protecting the interests of students. We will not compromise on transparency...," Pradhan said.

Speaking about the reports of the 'paper leak' from Patna, Pradhan said, "In the context of the NEET exam, we are in touch with Bihar government. We are receiving some information from Patna. Police Police are investigating and a detailed report will be submitted by them. Following credible information, strict action will be taken against the guilty."

Pradhan however said that the incident in Bihar is an isolated one and it should not affect other students.

"One isolated incident (Bihar paper leak) should not affect lakhs of students who took the exam sincerely," the Education Minister said.

On why the UGC-NET examination was cancelled, Pradhan said that a question paper was found on Dark Net that matched with the original one.

"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.

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