UGC NET 2024 Cancelled: 'Lax system', 'paper leak government'; opposition targets BJP, education minister

NEW DELHI: The Centre on Wednesday cancelled the University Grants Commission–National Eligibility Test (UGC NET) 2024 conducted for the post of assistant professor in universities, saying that the integrity of the examination “may have been compromised”.

Around 11 lakh students will have to retake the UGC NET examination after the Union education ministry cancelled it following concerns about its integrity. The UGC NET 2024 new dates will be announced shortly.

Soon after the announcement of UGC NET 2024 cancellation, the opposition leaders launched a fresh attack saying Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led coalition government is “playing with the future of the youth”.

Paper mafia is rigging every exam under BJP regime: Akhilesh Yadav

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav alleged that the “paper mafia is rigging every exam, one after the other under the Bharatiya Janata Party regime”.

Yadav said, “Due to the absence of UGC NET exam, the already existing shortage of teachers will increase even more. The shortage of teachers will hinder the mental development of the country, which will prove to be extremely fatal for the country in the long run.”

Will accountability be fixed now? Congress targeted BJP govt

Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi also alleged that the BJP government's "corruption and laxity" is harmful for the youth. "After the news of scam in NEET exam, now the NET exam to be held on 18th June has also been cancelled due to the fear of irregularities. Will accountability be fixed now? Will the education minister take responsibility for this lax system?" Vadra asked in a post on 'X'.

Bratya Basu, education minister of West Bengal, alleged the Modi government of compromising integrity of exams. "New scam in the market in the series of scams! Cancellation of UGC-NET due to compromised integrity of the examination! CBI enquiry has been ordered! Question is can they nab the HEAD?" Basu asked.

Spokesperson of Trinamool Congress Saket Gokhale said that the examination process structure of our country has crashed. "Paper leaks & irregularities are rampant and the useless NTA is complicit in it. After the NEET fiasco, the UGC-NET has now been cancelled - literally 1 day after students wrote the exam. The lives of our students are being destroyed everyday and the NDA 1.0 govt is shameless to even take responsibility" Gokhale added.

The UGC NET exam was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on June 18, 2024. The exam was held in an Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) format in two shifts across the country.