Education Ministry orders cancellation of UGC-NET
New Delhi, Jun 19: The Education Ministry on Wednesday ordered the cancellation of UGC-NET conducted by the National Testing Agency following inputs that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised and the matter has been handed over to the CBI for a thorough investigation, officials said.
The decision by the Ministry comes amid a massive row on the medical entrance exam NEET over alleged irregularities, with the issue now before the Supreme Court.
In a shift from earlier practice, the National Eligibility Test (NET) was conducted in pen and paper mode this time on a single day -June 18- with a record 11 lakh students registering for the exam.
A fresh examination shall be conducted, for which information shall be shared separately, a senior Ministry of Education (MoE) official said.
UGC-NET is a test to determine the eligibility of Indian nationals for the award of junior research fellowship, for appointment as Assistant Professor and admission to PhD in Indian universities and colleges
"The UGC received 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. These inputs prima-facie indicate that the integrity of the aforesaid examination may have been compromised," the senior official said.
"To ensure the highest level of transparency and sanctity of the examination process, it has been decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 examination be cancelled.
"A fresh examination shall be conducted, for which information shall be shared separately. Simultaneously, the matter is being handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for thorough investigation in the matter," the official added.
Government is committed to ensure the sanctity of examinations and protect the interest of students.
— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) June 19, 2024
Ministry of Education has decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination be cancelled on the basis of inputs from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry…
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Doctor, his teenage daughter test positive for Zika virus infection in Pune
Pune, Jun 26: A 46-year-old doctor and his teenage daughter have tested positive for Zika virus infection in Pune city of Maharashtra, but their health condition is stable, an official said on Wednesday.
The man recently developed symptoms like fever and rashes, following which he was admitted to a private hospital. The medical facility sent his blood samples to the city-based National Institute of Virology (NIV) for analysis. On June 21, his reports confirmed that he tested positive for Zika virus infection, a health official of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) said.
The doctor is a resident of Erandwane area of the city, he said.
"After he tested positive, the blood samples of his five family members were collected and sent for analysis, and it was found that his 15-year-old daughter was also positive for the infection," the official added.
The Zika virus disease is transmitted through the bite of an infected Aedes mosquito, which is also known to transmit infections like dengue and chikungunya. The virus was first identified in Uganda in 1947.
After these two cases were reported in the city, the PMC's health department has started conducting surveillance, the official said.
Although no other suspected cases have been found in the area, the authorities have started taking precautionary steps like fogging and fumigation to curb the breeding of mosquitoes, he said.
"The mosquito samples have been collected by the state health department. We have started the general public awareness in the area and given instructions to monitor the health of pregnant women in the area. Zika does not lead to serious complications in general, but in case a pregnant woman gets infected, it may cause microcephaly in the foetus," he said.
