Delay in exams not fine; Govt will investigate, punish guilty in recent paper leaks: President

NEW DELHI: The government is fully committed to a fair investigation of the recent incidents of paper leaks in the entrance and recruitment exams to ensure that the guilty are punished, President Droupadi Murmu said while addressing the 18th Lok Sabha today. Some members of the opposition party were heard shouting ‘NEET’ during her address.

The president said her government is making continuous efforts to ensure that the youth of the country gets ample opportunities to display their talent. “Delay in recruitment exams for government jobs or entrance exams for admission, for any reason, is not appropriate. There must be transparency and sanctity in these exams,” she said.

The president went on to say that there have been incidents of paper leaks in some states earlier as well and stressed that there is a need to rise above partisan politics and take concrete steps at the national level. She mentioned that the Parliament has passed a strict law against exam irregularities.

“My government is committed to a fair investigation as well as stringent punishment for the guilty in the recent incidents of paper leaks. Even before this, we have seen paper leaks in different states. There is a need to rise above partisan politics and find a nationwide concrete solution. Parliament has formed a strict law against irregularities in examinations. My government is working with exam-conducting agencies to improve their functioning, exam conducting process,” the President added in her address in the Parliament.

Also read NEET was far from fair even before this year's grace marks, paper-leak controversies

NEET controversy, exam paper leaks, protests

Recently, the centre notified the rules under the anti-paper leak law according to which the National Recruitment Agency (NRA) will prepare norms, standards and guidelines for the computer-based tests among other exams.

The union government has been under fire over allegations of paper leaks and alleged malpractices in this year’s national-level exams such as the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) and University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET). The health ministry recently postponed NEET PG exam as a ‘precautionary measure’.

Following the widespread protests over NEET controversy and other alleged exam irregularities by the opposition parties and students, the ministry of education handed over the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and formed a high-level committee to ensure fair conduct of examinations.