Ministers Laxmi Hebbalkar and Santosh Lad have criticised the Union government for the cancellation of NEET examination following question paper leak.

Ms. Hebbalkar said the Central government is playing with the future of lakhs of students by failing to properly conduct the medical entrance examination.

In a social media post, she said: “The NEET exam question paper leak is extremely unfortunate and condemnable. The future of lakhs of students who worked day and night to write the exam is in doubt today.”

“There is no other proof of the Central government’s administrative failure in not conducting even the highest examinations of a country in a transparent manner. He lashed out at the Central government saying that today, talented students of our country are suffering due to examination irregularities and administrative incompetence,” she said.

Meanwhile, Mr. Lad ridiculed the Union government for its repeated failure to conduct the NEET examination properly.

“No questions shall be raised about the leakage of NEET question papers as the Union government is beyond all questions. Who will question them? Whatever they do is right. The Union government has not been able to streamline the system to regulate medical admissions even after a decade. Any leakage should be accepted and no one should hold any one responsible,” Mr. Lad told reporters in Dharwad on Tuesday.

Dissolve NTA: AIDSO

AIDSO criticised the union government for the cancellation of the NEET examination and flayed the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Leaders said that the repeated leaks of NEET-UG question papers are not merely the failure of an examination agency that can be ignored but a grave injustice to the hard work and dreams of lakhs of honest students.

For the second time in just three years, the aspirations of students dreaming of medical education have been auctioned off to the highest bidders. The NTA is behaving like a puppet in the hands of the “coaching mafia” exposing the deteriorating condition of the entire system, it said.

This has created severe anxiety and frustration among students. AIDSO district committee strongly condemns the systematic destruction of the public education system for the benefit of a few individuals, it said.

“The very foundation of our students future is being sacrificed to corruption and administrative negligence. Such issues recur in several centralised examinations because the education system has been turned into a marketplace,” they said.

AIDSO demands the complete abolition of the National Testing Agency (NTA) which has repeatedly failed to conduct examinations transparently and securely, thereby losing the trust of the nation, it said.

A high-level independent judicial inquiry must be conducted to identify the individuals and the “coaching mafia” behind the question paper leak and exemplary punishment should be meted out to those responsible, it said.

The entrance examination system must be radically reformed to ensure that it is accessible to common people, transparent and free from private commercial interests, said a release.