NEET-UG row: Congress student wing NSUI barges into NTA headquarters, locks its office from inside

PTI

New Delhi, June 27

Members of the Congress student wing NSUI barged into the headquarters of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is under the scanner over alleged irregularities in the conduct of NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams, and locked its doors as a sign of protest.

Police have reached the spot and are trying to control the situation.

National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) members stormed into the testing agency’s office here in Okhla during a protest led by its national president Varun Choudhary as they raised slogans of “shut down NTA”.

There was no immediate reaction from officials of the NTA about the incident.

Visuals from the scene shared by NSUI showed scores of its members raising slogans inside the building of the NTA. It also showed students locking the entrance of the NTA office.

“No more Corrupt NTA. #NTA BAN,” read a message pasted on the iron lock and chain.

Delhi Police have reached the spot and are trying to control the situation, a police officer said.

“Apparently, the NTA locked the door from inside as students were protesting. Subsequently, the protesters also locked the door from outside with an iron chain and lock,” the officer said.

The protest comes in the wake of alleged irregularities and reports of paper leak in national-level examinations such as the NEET-UG, NEET-PG and UGC-NET conducted by the NTA.

“Students across the country are suffering due to the inefficiencies and negligence of the NTA. The frequent postponements and paper leaks are not just administrative failures. They are a direct attack on the future of our youth. We demand that the NTA be banned and a more reliable, transparent system be put in place,” Choudhary said during his address at the protest.

“From tomorrow, we will lock NTA offices all over India if our demand to ban the NTA is not met,” he said.

The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET-UG was conducted by the NTA on May 5 with around 24 lakh candidates taking part in it. The results were announced on June 4, but they were followed by allegations of question paper leaks in states such as Bihar, besides other irregularities.

The Education Ministry also cancelled the University Grants Commission–National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and NEET (postgraduate) examinations after receiving inputs that the exams’ “integrity may have been compromised”. 

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