New Delhi

In a major development in the NEET paper leak case, the Indian government on Thursday (June 20) said that it will form a high-level committee to review the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

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“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.

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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. 

Also read: NEET paper leak case: Bihar Deputy CM claims prime suspect had links with RJD

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'UGC-NET exam paper leaked on Darknet'

The Union Minister of Education further said that the UGC-NET exam was cancelled because it got leaked on the Darknet.

"Specific question paper is there on the Darknet. This input has been given by the Home Ministry's prestigious organisation I4C. When we compared the document with our original question paper, we came to the conclusion that this was a case of paper leak. When you are organising such a huge prestigious examination for the future Assistant Professors and PhD students, you have to maintain the quality," Pradhan said.

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He then said that the new dates of when the exam will be conducted will be out soon.

"Very soon we will have to come out with dates. We will see how the students are less burdened, but quality and transparency will be there," he added.

Earlier today, reports emerged that an aspirant from the eastern Indian state of Bihar had admitted to having received NEET question papers a day before the examination was conducted. 

Pradhan's remarks come a day after UGC-NET NTA announced the cancellation of the UGC-NET exam.

The Education Ministry released a statement saying that the University Grants Commission (UGC) on Wednesday (June 19) 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, and the inputs prima-facie indicated that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised.

It said that the exam will be conducted afresh at a date that will be announced later.

(With inputs from agencies)