NTA announces fresh exam dates amid ongoing NEET row

Amid the ongoing controversy over alleged irregularities in the conduct of competitive exams, the National Testing Agency (NTA), on Friday night, announced fresh dates for examinations that were either cancelled or postponed. Accordingly, the UGC-NET will now be held from August 21-September 4.

The University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) is a test to determine the eligibility for the award of Junior Research Fellowship, for appointment of assistant professors and admission to PhD courses. It was cancelled a day after being conducted on June 18 as the education ministry was informed that the integrity of the exam was compromised.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had said the question paper was leaked on the darknet and circulated on social media. The matter is being probed by the CBI.

The exam was conducted in offline mode this year and on a single day. However, the rescheduled exam will now be conducted according to the earlier pattern of Computer Based Test (CBT) spread across a fortnight.

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) UGC-NET, which was postponed as a preemptive measure amid the controversy over alleged irregularities in the conduct of exams, will now be held from July 25 to July 27.

The CSIR UGC-NET is accepted for PhD admissions in Chemical Sciences, Earth, Atmospheric, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, and Physical Sciences.

The National Common Entrance Test (NCET) for admission to the four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP), which was postponed hours before its scheduled commencement on June 12, will now be conducted on July 10.

The test is held for select central and state universities or institutions, including IITs, NITs, RIEs, and government colleges.

In the line of fire over the alleged irregularities in medical entrance examination NEET-UG and PhD entrance NET, the Centre had last week notified a panel to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the NTA.