New Delhi: In the wake of raging controversy over the conduct of public exams, the Union government late on Saturday evening ordered a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe and removed Subodh Kumar Singh, the chief of the National Testing Agency (NTA).
“For transparency on the conduct of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, Government of India after a review has decided to entrust the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation for comprehensive investigation,” a government press release said.
The Ministry of Personnel announced that Subodh Kumar Singh, who served as the director general of the NTA, has been replaced by retired IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola. Kharola is the chairman of the India Trade Promotion Organisation and has been given additional charge as the director general of the NTA “till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders”.
In another major decision, the Union health ministry also postponed the NEET-PG 2024 exam as a “precautionary measure” amid raging controversy over the conduct of public exams, Union health secretary Apurva Chandra told the Indian Express.
“This decision has been taken in the best interests of the students and to maintain the sanctity of the examination process… fresh dates will be announced at the earliest,” the health ministry said in a statement.
Probe panel
Earlier in the day, the Union education ministry had also constituted a high-level committee of experts to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations.
Headed by K. Radhakrishnan, former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), the committee will have seven members on the committee, including the chairman.
The committee will make recommendations on reform in the mechanism of the examination process, improvement in data security protocols and structure and functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is responsible for conducting exams. The Committee will submit its report to the ministry within two months, a press release from the government said.
Ministry of Education constitutes a High-Level Committee of Experts under the chairmanship of Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, Former Chairman, ISRO and Chairman BoG, IIT Kanpur, to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations.
The Committee to make recommendations on…
— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) June 22, 2024
The members of the committee are Dr Randeep Guleria, former director of the All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS); Professor B.J. Rao, vice-chancellor of the University of Hyderabad; Professor Ramamurthy, professor emeritus, department of civil engineering, IIT Madras; Pankaj Bansal, co-founder, People Strong and board member – Karmayogi Bharat; Professor Aditya Mittal, dean student affairs, IIT Delhi; and Govind Jaiswal, joint secretary, ministry of education, Government of India.
Law on public examinations
Meanwhile, facing the heat from mismanagement allegations surrounding multiple competitive examinations, the Union government on June 21 operationalised a law that aims to curb malpractices and irregularities in such examinations with a degree of stringency.
The The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, has provisions for a maximum jail term of 10 years and a fine of up to Rs 1 crore.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (1 of 2024), the Central Government hereby appoints the 21st day of June, 2024, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” says the notification.
The Act covers public examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), the Staff Selection Commission (SSC), the Railways, and the National Testing Agency among others.
President Droupadi Murmu gave assent to the law nearly four months ago. In the intervening time, India had its month-and-half long Lok Sabha elections.
In June this year, serious allegations of irregularities have surfaced surrounding paper leaks and the National Testing Agency’s conduct of the medical entrance exam NEET-UG. While this issue was on the boil, a paper leak suspicion over the UGC-NET exam – also conducted by the NTA – led to the government cancelling it. The Central Bureau of Investigation has lodged a case.
The CSIR-NET and the Bihar TET exams too have been postponed in the last 24 hours.
When the law was brought earlier this year, Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury had said that the Bill has “penal measures but does not include preventive measures”.
He also said that the Bill gives “significant authority” to the Union government, “thus consolidating considerable control of investigation at [its] hands”.
Students at the Delhi University on June 21 raised slogans against Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, India Today has reported. The Telegraph additionally reported that Pradhan who was to attend a Yoga Day event at the Multipurpose Hall of the DU campus, skipped it.
“The invitation card was printed on June 18. He was to come but he declined last evening,” DU registrar Vikas Gupta said.
