AISA protest at DU over NEET-UG row, Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan misses yoga day event

NEW DELHI: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday skipped the Delhi University's Yoga Day event where some students held a protest against alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams. Pradhan, who was the chief guest for the International Yoga Day event, which was scheduled to begin at 6 am, could not attend it due to "some urgent work", Delhi University (DU) officials said.

Carrying black flags, members of the Left-wing outfit All India Students' Association (AISA) along with other students of the university held their demonstration at the institution's North Campus. The AISA unit of Delhi University claimed that the minister did not attend the event at the North Campus because of the protest. "In response to the sheer audacity of Pradhan to even think of coming to DU while he and his NTA have jeopardised the future of students, AISA activists along with students of Delhi University raised black flags and protested against his presence in the university," the association said in a statement.

Demands for resignation

The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the medical entrance exam NEET-UG as well as the UGC-NET test to determine the eligibility for assistant professor and junior research fellowships in universities and colleges. During the protest, "students were informed that due to the fear of protest, the minister of education did not even show up for the event", the AISA said and added that "the corrupt and arrogant education minister is not welcome in our university".

The students' body also demanded Pradhan's resignation and the scrapping the NTA. In a press conference, late Thursday, Pradhan took "moral responsibility" of the "institutional failure" of NTA in holding the exams and said the government will set up a high-level committee to look into its functioning and recommend reforms.