The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Monday refuted the allegations of NEET examination paper leak and said they are “completely baseless” and “without any ground”.
NEET or the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) for admission to medical courses was conducted across the country on Sunday with over 24 lakh students registering for it this year.
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Ever since the exam was conducted in 4,750 centres in 571 cities on Sunday, people had been posting on social media alleging a leak of question papers.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took to social media and called the alleged paper leak a “betrayal of the dreams” of over 23 lakh students and their families.
“Whether it is the students who dream of getting admission in college after passing 12th standard or the promising youth struggling for a government job, Modi government has become a curse for everyone…The youth and their families who have been paying the price of the BJP government’s inefficiency for the past 10 years by ruining their future have now understood that there is a difference between speaking and running a government,” he said in a post on social networking site X.
“Congress has pledged to free the youth from paper leaks by making strict laws. A healthy and transparent environment for students is our guarantee,” he added.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also raised the issue questioning why the trend is not stopping.
“Once again, there are reports of a NEET paper leak. The future of 24 lakh youth of the country has been messed up again. This trend that has been going on with crores of promising youth for the last ten years is not stopping. Will the Prime Minister of the country say anything about this?” she asked
She further questioned, “To pacify the youth, a law was passed in the Parliament against paper leak. Where is that law? Why is it not implemented?”
She said that the Congress party’s manifesto assures the country to stop paper leaks incidents. “Recruitments will be done according to the calendar. Vacant posts will be filled. This tampering with the future of the youth will stop and we will show it by doing it,” she said.
In a statement issued on Monday, NTA stressed that every question paper has been “accounted for” and said that the purported images of the question paper circulating on social media have no relation with the actual paper.
“It has been ascertained from NTA’s security protocols and Standard Operating Procedures that the social media posts pointing towards any paper leak are completely baseless and without any ground. To put rumors to rest, it is also stated that every single question paper has been accounted for,” said Sadhana Parashar, senior director, NTA, in a statement.
She said that no external person or agency can access the centres once the examination starts, and after the gates of the examination centres are closed, no one from outside is permitted access inside the halls, which are under CCTV surveillance.
“All other photographs of question papers circulating on social media have no relation to the actual examination question paper which has been administered,” she said.
NTA on Sunday claimed that the distribution of wrong question papers at an exam centre in Rajasthan had led to some candidates walking out with the papers. The agency, however, denied any leak of the question paper.
“The integrity of the examination process was not compromised. The exam was later reconducted for the 120 affected candidates at the centre,” it said on Sunday.
The agency on Monday said that the pictures of the question papers from the above incident are being linked to an alleged incident of paper leak which is “mischievous and preposterous”. “There is no way any external person/agency can access the centres, once the examination starts,” NTA said.
However, the agency accepted that there have been cases of malpractice or impersonation where strict action has been taken on impersonators and candidates. “In addition to the above, NTA also conducts post-exam data analysis, to detect cases of Unfair Means (UFM). Action on UFM cases is taken as per extant rules, which includes cancellation of candidature and debarment from future examinations,” NTA said.
