The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET UG) 2024 has come under the scanner for reported paper leak, an allegation which the National Testing Agency (NTA) has vehemently denied.
On Monday, May 6, the NTA released a statement saying the allegations were “completely baseless and without any ground.” It said that it wanted to “set the record straight” and according to the rules students are only allowed to exit the hall with the question paper after the examination.
“It has been ascertained from NTA’s security protocols and Standard Operating Procedures that the Social Media Posts pointing towards any paper leak are completely baseless and without any ground. To put rumours to rest, it is also stated that every single Question Paper (QP) has been accounted for. Further, it is also to be noted that after the gates of the Examination Centres are closed, no one from outside is permitted access inside the halls which are under CCTV surveillance,” the NTA said in the statement.
Earlier, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra posted on X about the alleged NEET paper leak. “Once again, there are reports of NEET paper leak. The future of 24 lakh youth of the country has been messed up again. This trend that has been going on with crores of promising youth for the last ten years. Will the Prime Minister of the country say anything about this? To pacify the youth, a law was passed in the Parliament against paper leak. Where is that law? Why is it not implemented,” read her post.
On Monday, NEET UG 2024 was conducted in 557 cities across the country and 14 cities abroad. However, reports of alleged paper leaks have been making rounds on several social media platforms.
According to Indian Express, students of Hindi medium in a center in Rajasthan claimed they were handed English question papers. The error was rectified when the students reported the swap. However, some reports claim that the students forcefully walked out of the exam hall with the question paper.
The incident occurred at the Girls Higher Secondary Adarsh Vidya Mandir, Mantown, Sawai Madhopur in Rajasthan.
Admitting the “error of wrong question paper”, NTA had refuted the paper leak allegations. An NTA official has termed the incident as ‘isolated’. “The instances of ‘paper leak’ being claimed are completely false… In an isolated incident at Girls Higher Secondary Adarsh Vidya Mandir, students were given English medium question paper by mistake and by the time the invigilator could correct the mistake, the students forcefully walked out of the exam hall with the question paper,” the senior NTA official said.
