National Testing Agency chief sacked amid NEET paper leak NET exam row

The Centre has sacked the chief of the National Testing Agency (NTA), Subodh Kumar Singh, amid the massive row over alleged irregularities in the NEET and UGC-NET examinations.

Singh has been put on “compulsory wait” in the Department of Personnel and Training, while retired Indian Administration Service (IAS) officer Pradeep Singh Kharola has been appointed as the new director general of the exam body, which conducts the NEET, UGC-NET, CUET and JEE (Main).

The 1985 batch IAS officer is well known to Amit Khare, the adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Kharola had previously served as the Civil Aviation secretary.

The development comes amid huge protests across the country after it came to light that the NEET question paper was leaked in some states on the eve of the exam.

The NEET-PG 2024 exam, scheduled to take place on June 23, has also been postponed.

The NEET-UG results came under scanner after 67 candidates got a perfect score of 720/720.

A controversy also arose over the awarding of grace marks to more than 1,500 students, leading to widespread protests and court cases. The Supreme Court has strongly criticised the NTA’s handling of the matter.

The NTA also cancelled the UGC-NET exam earlier this week, citing its “compromised integrity”. The question paper of the exam, taken by 900,000 candidates across 317 cities on June 18, was found to be leaked on dark net.

Amid the row, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that leaks of question papers amounted to “institutional failure” on the part of the NTA.

On Saturday, the government announced a high-level committee led by former chairperson of ISRO Dr K Radhakrishnan to review the functioning of the NTA amid the lapses.

The seven-member panel has been tasked with making recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvement in data security protocols and the structure and functioning of the testing agency.

The committee has been directed to submit its report within two months, the government said in a statement.