The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced new exam dates for the previously postponed and cancelled University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET) July 2024 session, National Common Entrance Test (NCET) 2024, and Joint Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (Joint CSIR-UGC NET).
The NCET 2024 exam will now be held on July 10, 2024. Following this, the Joint CSIR-UGC NET will take place from July 25 to July 27, 2024. The UGC NET June 2024 exam is scheduled between August 21, 2024, and September 4, 2024.
The original June dates for these exams were postponed due to reported paper leaks and other discrepancies that surfaced after the NEET UG 2024 results were announced on June 4, 2024. This decision comes amidst the NEET UG 2024 grace-marks controversy and paper leak case, followed by the cancellation of the UGC NET June 2024 exam after inputs from the Home Ministry regarding a possible paper leak. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently looking into these cases.
The issue of exam paper leaks is not a new phenomenon in India. In 2023, the Hindi question paper of the Telangana Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examination was leaked. WhatsApp was the primary medium for spreading the leaked question paper. Additionally, a paper leak was discovered during the Assistant Engineer recruitment exam in Telangana, which eventually led to its cancellation on March 5, leaving candidates uncertain about their futures.
Assam experienced paper leaks of two subjects during the High School Leaving Certificate (HSLC) exams. The papers for General Science and English were leaked, forcing the Secondary Education Board of Assam (SEBA) to cancel the tests. Although the exams were rescheduled, the results of the CBI probe ordered into the leak were never made public.
In Uttar Pradesh, the Lekhpal recruitment exams were marred by a leak, affecting the recruitment of village accountant officers within the revenue administration. The police formed a special task force and arrested at least 21 individuals across seven districts in connection with the leak.
Rajasthan witnessed a leak of its Forest Guard Recruitment exam on social media, resulting in the arrest of at least two individuals involved in the matter. The Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) exam was scrapped on May 8, 2022, following allegations of a paper leak. The Economic Offences Unit (EoU) made 226 arrests in the case, including capturing the mastermind behind the leak.
In 2021, the Gujarat Subordinate Services Selection Board (GSSSB) had announced recruitment for 186 Head Clerk positions. The examination, conducted in December 2021 at around 700 centers across the state, saw 88,000 candidates appearing. Investigators found that the question paper was leaked from the printing press and sold for Rs 10 lakh-15 lakh, leading to the cancellation of the exam.
Over the past decade, Rajasthan has experienced 26 paper leaks, with 14 occurring in the last three to four years, affecting over 40 lakh students. Local investigating agencies discovered that the paper leaks often originated at the level of the examination centers. The modus operandi included gang members procuring the paper from the exam center, solving it, and then leaking it to students before they reached the exam centers.
