Amid NEET-UG 2024 paper leak controversy, Centre's 7-member panel to oversee NTA's functioning to meet today: Sources

Amid the raging controversy around NEET-UG 2024 paper leak, the seven-member high-level committee formed to oversee the functioning and transparency of the National Testing Agency (NTA) will meet on Monday. The seven-member panel led by former ISRO chief Dr K Radhakrishnan will submit its report to the Education Ministry in the next 2 months, news agency ANI reported citing sources. 

The Education Ministry on Saturday announced the formation of a high-level committee of experts to recommend reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data protocols, and the functioning of the NTA. The Centre on Saturday also removed NTA director general Subodh Singh after facing flak over irregularities in the medical entrance exam. Singh was replaced by retired IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola. 

Additionally, only 813 of the 1,563 eligible candidates appeared for the NEET-UG retest conducted on Sunday at 6 centres in 4 states and a Union Territory. The exam was conducted after the NTA withdrew grace marks awarded to students compensated for loss of time due to delay in start of the exam at 6 centres in Meghalaya, Haryana. Chhattisgarh, Gujarat and Chandigarh. 

On Thursday, education minister Dharmendra Pradhan ruled out the possibility of cancellation of NEET exams for now. He said that the government cannot jeopardise the careers of lakhs of students who cleared the exam rightfully due to isolated instances of malpractices. 

Around 24 lakh candidates appeared in the exam on May 5 this year and the results were declared on June 4. Since then, the NTA is facing criticism over the NEET-UG 2024 paper leak and the alleged irregularities after 67 students scored 720 out of 720.

Reports of paper leak first came from Bihar and then from Gujarat's Godhra.  Meanwhile, the CBI on Sunday registered a criminal case for irregularities in the medical entrance exam and formed special teams to probe the matter. 

The CBI said in its FIR that some 'isolated incidents' occurred in a few states during the conduct of the exam held on May 5, 2024. The NTA, on the other hand, has claimed that its website and all its web portals are fully secure, while dismissing the allegations of the portals being compromised as 'wrong and misleading'.