Centre postpones NEET-PG exam amid paper-leak row

In the latest case of an exam being affected by the paper-leak row, the Centre on Saturday postponed the the NEET-PG exam.

In a notification on Saturday, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) said the exam was being postponed in the wake of "recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations".

This was a reference to the allegations of paper-leak and other irregularities in the NEET-UG and other exams in recent weeks. Earlier in the day, after a number of exams were tainted with allegations and were postponed, the Union government sacked National Testing Agency (NTA) chief Subodh Kumar.

The next date of the exam will be announced at the earliest, said the MoHFW in its statement.

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Earlier this week, UGC-NET and CSIR-UGC-NET exams were also postponed.

Regarding the UGC-NET exam, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the cancellation was after it was learnt that the paper had been leaked on the darknet and was being circulated on messaging application Telegram.

As for the CSIR-UGC-NET exam, Pradhan said that the paper was postponed over logistical concerns.

Earlier in the day, Pradhan had said that the recent incidents surrounding the NTA and the entrance exams were a result of "institutional failure".

I have already said there has been an institutional failure. I have taken responsibility. NTA’s top leadership is under several types of questions. But I have to safeguard students’ interests first. I am a custodian of their interests,” said Pradhan, as per PTI

The Centre has set up a seven-member committee headed by K Radhakrishnan, the former chief of the Indian Space and Research Organisation (ISRO), to suggest reforms the holding of exams by the NTA. The committee will submit the report in two days.