New Delhi: A screenshot of some part of the National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) question paper was shared on encrypted chat platforms including Telegram on 17 June — a day before the exam — which led to its cancellation Wednesday, ThePrint has learnt.
In a press conference Thursday, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the leak was detected by the National Cybercrime Threat Analysis Unit of Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C).
A source in the government confirmed to ThePrint that questions visible in the screenshot were tallied with the original set and matched. This is when the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Ministry of Education about a possible “breach” which led to cancellation of the exam.
“The screenshot was of the original exam paper and had the date 17 June, a day before the date of the examination. This was circulated on encrypted chat platforms so authorities were immediately alerted,” the source said.
The source added that a “thorough probe will be carried out by the CBI to ascertain where the screenshot originated from, how it was shared and where did the possible leak happen”.
“The authenticity of the screenshot also needs to be verified. It was important to take swift action so the exam was cancelled,” the source explained.
The Ministry of Education Wednesday cancelled the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination, meant for entry-level teaching jobs in Indian universities and also for admission to PhD programmes, just a day after more than 9 lakh candidates appeared for it across 317 cities.
This, it is learnt, was done after inputs from the MHA that “the integrity of the examination may have been compromised”.
The UGC-NET comprises two papers — the first is common to all and the second is subject-specific. Both papers have objective-type multiple-choice questions (MCQs).
CBI begins probe
Soon after it received a complaint in this regard from K. Sanjay Murthy, Secretary, Department of Higher Education, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed an FIR in the matter Thursday.
The complaint said that the UGC-NET exam was conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on 18 June in two shifts across different cities and on 19 June the University Grants Commission (UGC) received inputs from the I4C saying “integrity of the aforesaid examination may be compromised”.
“…to ensure the highest level of transparency and sanctity of the examination process, the Ministry of Education, decided to cancel the aforesaid examination and to hand over the case to the CBI for thorough investigation in the matter,” read the complaint.
According to the FIR, the facts of the complaint prima facie disclose commission of offences punishable under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (fraud) of IPC by unknown accused persons.
“We will be looking into the inputs shared by the Home Ministry and investigate the matter further,” a CBI officer told ThePrint on condition of anonymity.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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