Amid NEET fiasco, Indian government notifies anti-paper leak law

In a significant development amid the NEET fiasco, the Indian government notified the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, which seeks to strictly punish those who leak question papers.

The stringent law, which aims to prevent unfair means during examinations, was passed by the Parliament in the month of February.

Under this act, if a person is found guilty of leaking a question paper or tampering with the answer sheet, he/she would face a prison term of a minimum of three years. The imprisonment can go up to five with a fine of Rs 1 million (11,967.05 USD).

In case the examination providers are aware of the possible offence but choose not to report it, they will risk a fine of up to Rs 1 crore (1,19,670.50 USD).

If during the probe it is established that a senior official of the service provider participated in or allowed the offence, he/she would be sentenced to a minimum of three years in prison which can go up to a maximum of 10 years and a fine of Rs 1 crore (1,19,670.50 USD).

'Strict action to be taken against any NTA official if found guilty,' says education minister

The move comes a day after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said that the Centre will form a high-level committee to review the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

“We are committed to holding zero-error exams, and a high-level committee is being formed to improve NTA functioning,” Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said at a press briefing.

"Recommendations will be expected from that high-level committee to further improve NTA, its structure, functioning, examination process, transparency and data security protocol. Strict action will be taken against any official of NTA if found guilty,” he said.

He then ensured that the government would not compromise with transparency and would safeguard the students’ rights.

“We have received inputs from the Bihar government about the NEET examination. Patna Police is investigating the matter and they will soon send a detailed report to the Government of India. Preliminary information indicates that errors were limited to a specific region,” Pradhan added.

(With inputs from agencies)