New dates for NEET-PG expected by Monday-Tuesday: Education minister
What's the story
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has announced that the dates for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Postgraduate (NEET PG) 2024 exam will be announced by Monday or Tuesday.
The Health Ministry, in a late-night post on June 22, announced the postponement of the exam, which was scheduled to be conducted just hours later on Sunday (June 23).
"This decision has been taken in the best interests of the students and to maintain the sanctity of the examination process," it said.
Exam postponement
Congress only want chaos and confusion: Pradhan
The minister also hit back at the Congress Party, which has been demanding a discussion on the cancellation of the NEET-UG exam amid allegations of irregularities and paper leaks, saying, "They only want chaos and confusion."
"The President herself has addressed the issue that Congress wants to debate about, admitting the challenges and shortcomings in the process and that we have to look into them.. they want the matter to remain burning," he said.
Twitter Post
Watch the announcement here
#WATCH | On NEET issue, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan says, "Congress does not want discussion, and they are running away from it. They only want chaos, and confusion, and want to create obstacles in the entire functioning of the institutional mechanism... The… pic.twitter.com/80XRjYtVZu
— ANI (@ANI) June 29, 2024
Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi's microphone muted during NEET discussion: Congress
On Friday, the party claimed that Rahul Gandhi's microphone was turned off during a debate on the NEET-UG paper leak issue in the Lok Sabha.
The party also shared a video on X in which Gandhi can be seen asking Speaker Om Birla to give him access to the microphone.
Gandhi said that both the opposition and government should give a joint message to students, which is why he was calling for a discussion on NEET.
Exam integrity
Controversy around NEET-UG exam results
The NEET-UG examination, held on May 5 across 4,750 centers, has been tainted by allegations of cheating and question paper leaks.
An unprecedented number of students—as many as 67—scored a perfect 720, while 1,563 candidates were awarded grace marks for lost time.
These grace marks were later cancelled.
Moreover, the results were expected to be declared on June 14, but were announced 10 days earlier due to the early completion of answer sheet evaluations.
Arrest
CBI makes arrest
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is handling the case, made its first arrest on Thursday in Patna.
The men were identified as Baldev Kumar, alias Chintu, and Mukesh Kumar, according to ANI.
Five others were also arrested on Saturday.
An official identified three out of five accused as Ehsan ul Haq, Principal of Oasis School in Hazaribagh, who also served as the City Coordinator for the NEET exam in Hazaribagh; Mohammad Imtiaz; and Jamaluddin, a journalist.