UGC NET June 2024 cancelled, ‘integrity of exam may be compromised’: Education ministry

NEW DELHI: The ministry of education has cancelled the University Grants Commission - National Eligibility Test (UGC NET 2024) June session after it received inputs from National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) that the “exam may be compromised”. UGC NET re-exam dates 2024 will be announced soon, it said.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the UGC NET June 2024 exam for 83 subjects on June 18 for over 9 lakh candidates. Unlike previous sessions, the exam was conducted in OMR-based pen and paper format.

“On 19th June, 2024, the University Grants Commission (UGC) received certain inputs from National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs on the Examination. These inputs prima-facie indicate that the integrity of the aforesaid examination may have been compromised,” the ministry informed.

“To ensure the highest level of transparency and sanctity of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, Government of India has decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination be cancelled,” it added.

UGC NET 2024 re-exam

Further, the ministry said that a fresh exam will be held by the testing agency and the information regarding the re-exam will be issued separately on the official website, ugcnet.nta.ac.in.

Simultaneously, the matter is being handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for thorough investigation in the matter.

This comes amid the NEET controversy over grace marks and paper leak. The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET UG 2024), in which 24 lakh candidates appeared, was marred by irregularities and the Supreme Court had directed the testing agency to hold a re-exam again for the affected students.

The UGC NET is an eligibility test for assistant professor, PhD admission, and also for awarding Junior Research Fellowship (JRF).