UGC NET 2024 paper leaked on Darknet, re-exam date soon; Dharmendra Pradhan

NEW DELHI: The University Grants Commission - National Eligibility Test (UGC NET) question paper 2024 was leaked on Darknet, the Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan said during a press conference today. The inputs on UGC NET paper leak 2024 was given by the home ministry's Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C); established to curb cyber crime in the country. The decision to cancel the UGC NET 2024 will affect 9.08 lakh aspirants who took the exam.

The UGC NET June 2024 session was held on June 18 in OMR-based format for selection of junior research fellows, assistant professors and PhD scholars. The exam was cancelled a day after by the ministry stating that reports indicate that the “exam may be compromised”. Out of the 11,21,225 candidates who registered, 9.08 lakh candidates took the exam in 317 exam cities.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has been conducting the UGC NET since December 2018. The testing agency received strong criticism for lack of transparency in the exams. The UGC NET cancellation, which comes immediately after NEET fiasco, has led to nation-wide protests by student groups and political leaders.

Amid the opposition, the education minister said: "Specific question paper is there on the Darknet. This input has been given by the home ministry's prestigious organisation I4C. When we compared the document with our original question paper, we came to the conclusion that this is a case of paper leak." A high-level committee will also be set up to study the functioning of NTA, he informed.

“I can't say that I am sharing a nice information with you. With pain, we are taking the responsibility. We have to rectify the system. Very soon we will have to come out with dates," he said.

Earlier today, the ministry of education joint secretary Govind Jaiswal also informed that the UGC NET fresh exam dates 2024 will be announced soon on the official website, ugcnet.nta.ac.in and nta.ac.in.