UGC-NET June 2024 cancellation: CBI to probe irregularities amid growing opposition outcry

The row over the cancellation of the UGC-NET June 2024 exam is rapidly escalating into turmoil in both political and academic fields. Following the cancellation after an alert from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, the government on Thursday handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation, or CBI.

The cancellation of the exam has affected 11,21,225 candidates who took the exam in OMR mode on 18 June.

The government is already facing intense scrutiny over consecutive national examination controversies with the opposition going all out to corner the Centre.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge called the cancellation of UGC-NET exam, "a victory of the spirit of millions of students".

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Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the Central government’s “gross inefficiency” had undermined the credibility of important national-level examinations and jeopardised the future of lakhs of students.

Earlier today, several members of the Congress-affiliated NSUI were on Thursday detained while protesting outside Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's residence here against the cancellation of the UGC-NET examination.

The Union education ministry late on Wednesday night ordered the cancellation of UGC-NET following inputs of the exam's integrity being compromised.

Members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) led by its national president Varun Choudhary gathered outside Pradhan's residence and demanded a ban on the National Testing Agency (NTA) and a probe into the alleged incidents of paper leak.

The student leaders were seen raising slogans against the alleged corruption in the NTA and the perceived inaction by the education minister.

In a symbolic display of corruption, Choudhary flung a bag full of counterfeit currency in the air and demanded an urgent probe into the matter.

The protesters also demanded an investigation into the irregularities in the NEET-UG examination.