Thiruvananthapuram, Jun 25 (PTI) Kerala Higher Education Minister Roji M John on Thursday demanded for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, alleging that the NTA has become a “symbol of corruption and mismanagement”.
In a Facebook post, John claimed that there had been 89 question paper leaks and 48 re-examinations over the past decade, holding the National Testing Agency (NTA) responsible for eroding the credibility of India’s examination system.
Among others, the NTA conducts the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test (NEET) for medical admissions, and the recent paper leak has created a huge row.
“The NTA has become a symbol of corruption and mismanagement. The Central government has mortgaged the hard work of lakhs of students to examination mafias,” John alleged.
Referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s protests in Kota and allegations raised by a student named Sarthak regarding discrepancies in CBSE examinations, John said the incidents pointed not to technical glitches but to corruption within examination boards and the structural collapse of the country’s education system.
“Merely banning Telegram (social media platform) will not restore the credibility that has been lost,” he said.
Accusing Pradhan of evading responsibility, the minister said, “The democratic course of action is for Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign immediately.” He also called for the NTA’s centralised examination system to be scrapped.
“Stop gambling with the future of students,” John said.
Pradhan and the NTA have come under sustained criticism from opposition parties over the functioning of the country’s entrance examination system, particularly following allegations of irregularities and question paper leaks in the NEET-UG examination.
The controversy had led to a retest for a section of candidates and triggered nationwide protests PTI TBA TBA SA
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