Kerala Assembly Demands Comprehensive Probe Into NEET And NET Exam Irregularities

The Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday urging the Centre to conduct a thorough investigation into irregularities in the NEET and NET entrance exams conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Kerala's higher education minister, Dr. R Bindu, introduced the resolution under rule 275, highlighting the discrepancies in the administration of the NEET UG and UGC NET exams across the country.

"Unscientific awarding of grace marks to certain students to compensate for time lapses in exams conducted in multiple batches has resulted in some students receiving undeserved marks. The Union government informed the Supreme Court that re-examinations would be conducted to avoid grace marks, and the education minister claimed there was no evidence of question paper leaks. However, NTA, which is responsible for conducting these critical exams, has repeatedly demonstrated its inability to do so without issues. NEET was introduced after effectively cancelling state-level exams," Dr. R Bindu stated.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly condemned the actions of the NTA, which have caused concern and uncertainty for lakhs of students and their parents. The resolution called on the Union government to take immediate and sincere actions to alleviate the fears and anxieties of those awaiting medical admissions.

An MLA from the ruling Left party alleged that the Centre and BJP supported the "exam mafia" behind the scam, a claim backed by the opposition Congress-led UDF.

CPIM MLA M Vijin moved a motion under rule 130, accusing the BJP and the Centre of attempting to "saffronise" the NET exam and the country's education system.

"There are efforts to saffronise the NET exams. There is widespread corruption involved in NEET. There is a nexus between those in power and tuition centers. Bihar's Patna and Gujarat's Godhra are emerging as epicenters. This mafia even asked wealthy students to submit blank papers, promising to fill them after the exams," he alleged.

Following a two-hour discussion, the assembly passed a substantive resolution demanding that the Centre take urgent steps to address the grievances of affected candidates and conduct a comprehensive investigation into the irregularities in the entrance exams.