After receiving indications of a paper leak, the Ministry of Education has cancelled the UGC NET exam that was held on June 18.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) received inputs related to the examination from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit (NCTAU) of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre under the Ministry of Home Affairs.

These initial inputs suggest that there was malpractice in the exam conducted on Tuesday.

Irregularities Revealed in Investigation

After receiving the inputs, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Home Affairs swiftly took action, and the relevant agencies began their work.

The National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Division of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs initiated its investigation after receiving several complaints about discrepancies.

The investigation revealed that discussions about the UGC NET question paper and solved paper were occurring on educational institutions' online chat forums.

These irregularities were promptly reported to the Ministry of Home Affairs, which then shared this information with the Ministry of Education.

After assessing all aspects, a decision was made on Wednesday night to cancel the exam. Educational institutions, online social media platforms, and encrypted social networking groups are primarily under suspicion in this entire matter.

Additionally, the case has been handed over to the CBI for a thorough investigation.

Over 11 Lakh Candidates Participated

The Ministry of Education stated, "The exam will be rescheduled, and details will be shared separately. The government is committed to ensuring the integrity of examinations and protecting students' interests."

It is noteworthy that the UGC NET June 2024 exam was conducted in 1,205 exam centres across 317 cities nationwide, with 11,21,225 candidates participating.