‘No paper missing, no broken locks’: NTA's reply in NEET-UG leak case
- In Reports
- 11:46 AM, Jul 11, 2024
- Myind Staff
Reaffirming its stance of 'no leak' amidst the controversy surrounding the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the National Testing Agency informed the Supreme Court that no question paper was reported missing and no locks were found to be broken in Patna.
This is significant because allegations of a paper leak in the national entrance exam for medical education aspirants first surfaced from the Bihar capital. The CBI, currently investigating alleged irregularities in the exam, has arrested eight people in connection with the Bihar case.
In its affidavit filed in Supreme Court, the NTA has said that reports of the City coordinator, Centre Superintendent(s) and observers concerned were examined.
"No question paper was found missing in any Trunk. Each question paper has a unique serial number and was assigned to a particular candidate. No locks were found broken. The reports from NTA Observers did not report anything adverse. The CCTV coverage in the Command Centre were constantly monitored. No untoward incident or any pointer to paper leakage was observed," it said.
The NTA's response follows the Supreme Court's observation that it is evident a leak has occurred. "One thing is clear that leak of question paper has taken place," a bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, Justice J B Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said Monday. "If the sanctity of the exam is lost, then a re-test has to be ordered. If we are unable to identify those who are guilty, then a re-test has to be ordered," the bench said.
The court has stated that the extent of the leak and the individuals who benefitted from it need to be identified before considering whether to order a re-test, which could potentially impact thousands of students.
The testing agency has also addressed the alleged paper leak in Rajasthan's Sawai Madhopur.
"NTA came to know from social media on the day of exam itself around 4:30 PM that an incident has occurred at one Exam Centre in Sawai Madhopur, Rajasthan, where a wrong medium of Question Paper was distributed, and some candidates protested and left the centre without giving the exam along with the question paper."
"Thereafter, a picture of the question paper was circulated on the social media alleging be a paper leak. In fact, there could not be leak caused by such an incident and the same was clarified immediately," the NTA has said.
"It is further clarified that the access to the centres was regulated and no Internet and mobile connectivity was possible during the actual conduct of the examination due to the installation of jammers and control over the usage of electronic devices thereby eliminating all scope of any adverse impact of such an incident," it said, adding that the retest at the centre was conducted smoothly the same day.
The NTA's assertion that no paper leaked comes in response to the Centre's statement to the Supreme Court yesterday, which clarified that there was no evidence of "mass malpractice" nor any specific group of candidates benefiting from localised advantages.
The Centre also mentioned that data analytics of NEET-UG 2024 results, conducted by IIT Madras, showed marks distribution following a bell-shaped curve typical of large-scale examinations, indicating no irregularities.
Image source: NDTV
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