Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan canceled his scheduled Yoga Day celebration program at Delhi University on Friday following protests by students. The protesting students displayed black flags and raised slogans, voicing their discontent over recent alleged scams involving the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET).
Addressing a press briefing on Thursday, Dharmendra Pradhan described the UGC-NET question paper leak as an “institutional failure” of the National Testing Agency (NTA). He announced that the government will establish a high-level committee to review the NTA’s operations and suggest necessary reforms.
“The cancellation of UGC-NET was not a knee-jerk reaction. We obtained evidence that the paper had leaked on the darknet and was circulating on Telegram, leading to the exam’s cancellation,” Dharmendra Pradhan stated.
He emphasized the need for thorough reform, calling the paper leak an institutional failure of the NTA. “We assure you that a reform committee will be established, and appropriate actions will be taken,” he added.
The upcoming high-level committee will be tasked with recommending improvements to the NTA’s structure, operations, examination processes, transparency, and data security protocols. “Zero-error testing is our commitment,” Dharmendra Pradhan affirmed, noting that the panel will include global experts and will be notified soon.
