The Wire Staff 
New Delhi: Amid raging controversy over NEET results and the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that a high-level committee will be formed to probe the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted both exams.
“We are committed to hold a zero-error exam. A high-level committee is being formed to improve NTA functioning,” said Pradhan.
On the UGC-NET exam, he said, “Soon after it was clear that the UGC-NET question paper on Dark Net matches the original question paper of UGC-NET, we decided to cancel the examination.”
The UGC-NET exam, which was conducted on June 18, was cancelled on June 19 following reports that the exam’s integrity was compromised. The decision to cancel the exam came amidst ongoing protests nationwide over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the national eligibility cum entrance exam NEET (UG), which was held on May 5.
Pradhan underlined that “errors” in the NEET exam were in specific regions, adding that one isolated incident (Bihar paper leak) should not affect lakhs of students who took the exam sincerely. He said his ministry is in touch with the Bihar government and will soon get a report from the Bihar Police.
“I want to assure everyone that the government is committed to protecting the interests of students. We will not compromise on transparency. Student welfare is our priority,” he added. He appealed not to spread rumours and politicise the issue.
Earlier in the day, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, in a press conference, had said the main reason for paper leaks is that educational institutions have been dominated by the BJP and its parent organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and paper leaks will not stop unless that is reversed.
“They have hired vice-chancellors that follow RSS ideology and therefore, such mediocre people are running our institutions,” he said.