UGC-NET exam: Opposition accuses NTA, Union govt of destroying future of students
New Delhi (PTI): Opposition leaders on Thursday launched an attack on the National Testing Agency (NTA) after the UGC-NET exam was cancelled and accused the agency as well as the Union government of destroying the future of students who appeared for these exams.
The UGC cancelled the UGC-NET examination on Wednesday, a day after it was held, after receiving certain inputs from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the ministry of home affairs on the examination.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Saket Gokhale said the examination process in the country has crashed and the lives of students are being destroyed. He accused the NTA of being complicit.
"The examination process structure of our country has crashed. Paper leaks and irregularities are rampant and the useless NTA is complicit in it," Gokhale said in a post on X.
"After the NEET fiasco, the UGC-NET has now been cancelled - literally 1 day after students wrote the exam. The lives and futures of our students are being destroyed everyday and the NDA 1.0 govt is shameless to even take responsibility," he said.
The TMC MP said Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not learnt any lesson from the elections, and demanded that Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan and Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw both be sacked.
"Incompetent education minister Dharmendra Pradhan has been repeated again despite being an utter failure. The same is with Ashwini Vaishnaw as railway minister & now we saw a train crash just days ago. They need to be sacked," he said.
"Modi clearly hasn’t learnt any lesson from his humiliation in the elections," he added.
Communist Party of India (Marxist), in a post on X, accused the government of making a mockery of the education system.
"First there were discrepancies in CUET, then the NEET Scam, and now UGC-NET was cancelled! The BJP govt has made a complete mockery of the education system," the CPI(M) said in a post on X.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha said the NEET exam should also be cancelled.
"You had to scrap NET and you must scrap NEET now as there is ample proof that this examination was compromised. And it is time to acknowledge that the NTA is a fraud," he said.
UGC-NET is a test to determine the eligibility of Indian nationals for the award of junior research fellowship, for appointment as assistant professors and admission to PhD in Indian universities and colleges.
The decision by the ministry comes amid a massive row over alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam NEET, with the issue now before the Supreme Court.
The NEET-UG examination is conducted by the NTA for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions across the country.
Rajya Sabha CPI(M) MP John Brittas meanwhile raised concern over questions asked in the UGC-NET exam, and alleged that "saffronisation" of education was being done.
"When NEET to NET collapses... see how saffronisation (is) done; NET qstns (questions) for a Theatre student - Ayodhya pranprathishta date, how Hanuman is described, the sloka in Ramayan, beheaded but kept alive in Mahabharata, Hindi exponent… How do we intend to mould our next generation?" he said.
Brittas shared some images purportedly of the UGC-NET question paper which showed a question which asked the consecration date of the Ram temple, and other questions related to Ramayan, Mahabharat and other religious texts.
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Modi says 'don't go abroad,' but flies off on trips himself: Mann's jibe at PM
Chandigarh (PTI): Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his appeal to people to postpone foreign travels when he himself did not stop going abroad.
Modi on Sunday in his address to the nation called for judicious use of fuel, postponing gold purchases and foreign travel due to the West Asia crisis. He urged the people to use the metro, carpooling, increased use of electric vehicles and working from home to conserve foreign exchange.
Speaking to reporters here, Mann said, "First, the prime minister should stop his foreign visits. Where is he now? He has gone to the Netherlands. He will visit 3-4 more countries. He has asked people to avoid but he still went (on foreign visits). You are shutting down everything... do not buy gold, do not undertake foreign visits, work from home."
He asked, "Why doesn't the PM work from home?"
The Punjab chief minister also took on the BJP-led Centre for increasing prices of petrol and diesel.
"We were to become 'vishwaguru' but we have become 'vishwachele'. The war is happening somewhere else but restrictions are being imposed here. Why has no other country implemented it (restrictions)?" he asked.
Mann said people across the country are struggling with inflation, rising transport costs and increasing household expenditure, but instead of providing relief, the Centre is asking citizens to reduce personal spending.
"Thankfully, the PM only advised people to save money and didn't ask them to beat 'thalis' and clap again," he said in a dig.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader asserted that instead of symbolic gestures and lectures, people expect practical steps to control inflation and reduce the financial burden on households, farmers and small businesses.
Petrol and diesel prices were hiked by Rs 3 per litre each on Friday, the first rate increase in more than four years, amid mounting losses to fuel retailers due to surging global crude prices.
Modi has reduced the size of his convoy, prompting several BJP chief ministers and other leaders to adopt similar measures.
The prime minister is on a six-day tour of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy to discuss bilateral ties.
Meanwhile, on the Bhakra water-sharing issue, Mann asserted that Punjab will preserve its water rights at every cost. He said Haryana would receive water strictly according to its legally scheduled quota and not before the stipulated timeline.
"Punjab will not compromise on its water rights under any pressure," he said. The chief minister said water is an emotional, economic and agricultural lifeline for Punjab and his government is fully committed to protecting every drop.
Punjab has no spare water to share with any other state, he said.
To a question on the upcoming local body polls, Mann said his party will be victorious.
Mann praised his government's work on the job and infrastructure front, and attacked Shiromani Akali Dal, claiming that the party steadily lost both public support and credibility due to years of political decline and disconnect from people's aspirations.
Akalis no longer command the trust they once enjoyed among Punjabis, he said.
