- The National Testing Agency chief denied that the NEET question paper leak occurred through the NTA system
- NTA and education ministry officials appeared before the parliamentary panel
- The MPs demanded major reforms and urged them to fix loopholes
National Testing Agency Director General Abhishek Singh on Thursday defended the entrance exams body before a parliamentary panel, claiming the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) question papers didn't leak through the NTA system, sources said.
Vineet Joshi, the secretary of the education ministry's Department of Higher Education, and the NTA chief appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.
The panel asked the official who was responsible for the embarrassing leak.
In response, the official said he could answer only after the Central Bureau of Investigation completes its probe into the scandal.
Also read: 60-Page PDF That Alerted NEET Paper Leak Whistleblowers Accessed By NDTV
The sources said that an opposition MP demanded major reforms in the functioning of the NTA.
The MPs told the officers to find and fix loopholes in the system.
The issue of vacant positions at the NTA also came up during the meeting. The officials informed the parliamentary committee that the process of filling the positions is underway.
Some MPs suggested strengthening the infrastructure for the NEET exam and reconsidering the frequency and duration of the test. They asked the officials to consider preparing 10 different sets of questions for the pre-medical exam, with a separate question set for each state.
After the meeting, Digvijaya Singh, the chairperson of the panel, said, "Today's meeting was positive. The MPs are very concerned about the NEET paper leak case. I don't want to speak about it in detail. We received good suggestions from all the MPs."
Also read: Exclusive: How A Chemistry Teacher Blew The Lid Off NEET Paper Leak
CBI Action In NEET Case
The CBI has so far arrested nine accused in this case, including individuals from Jaipur and Sikar in Rajasthan, Gurugram in Haryana, and Nashik, Pune, and Ahilyanagar in Maharashtra.
The biggest breakthrough in the CBI investigation came from Pune, when the agency arrested chemistry lecturer PV Kulkarni. He was allegedly involved in the NTA examination process and had access to the question papers.
A Botany teacher, Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, from Pune, has also been arrested in the case. She worked for the NEET process following her appointment by the NTA as an expert.
Nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered for the exam, the gateway for medical courses, including MBBS.
