Team Blitz India
NEW DELHI: Facing protests in several parts of the country as well as attacks from the opposition, the Centre has removed the Chief of the National Testing Agency (NTA) Subodh Kumar Singh amid the controversy over the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and the cancellation of the UGC-NET Exam.
In a statement on June 22, the Ministry of Personnel announced that Subodh Kumar Singh, who was the Director General of the NTA, has been replaced by retired Indian Administration Service (IAS) officer Pradeep Singh Kharola. Kharola is the Chairman and Managing Director of the India Trade Promotion Organisation and has been given additional charge as the director general of the NTA till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders.
The move comes hours after the Government constituted a committee which will give recommendations to improve the functioning of the agency and a day before around 1,500 students who had been given grace marks for NEET-UG are scheduled to take a retest.
Capping a day of fast-moving developments, the government also handed over the probe into the alleged irregularities, including the paper leaks, in the NEET-UG exam to the CBI on Saturday. The agency is also probing the alleged leaks that led to the cancellation of the UGC NET exam.
Sources told NDTV that the repeated allegations of leaks in exams conducted by the NTA and the inconvenience caused to students, as well as the outpouring of anger among them, had made Mr Singh’s position tenuous. Pressure from a resurgent opposition as well as adverse remarks by the Supreme Court against the NTA also played a role in the decision to remove the exam body chief.
The move is also part of a promised overhaul of the National Testing Agency, which has been spoken about by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan as well. Sources said that, at a recent Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister NarendraModi had asked Pradhan to take action, and the crackdown has now begun.
Meanwhile, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET PG) Examination, initially set for June 23, has been postponed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The rescheduled date will be announced soon.
