Students Federation of India (SFI) supporters burn an effigy as they protest, condemning the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the cancellation of the UGC-NET June 2024 exam and demanded resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: ANI
As scores of students took to the streets on Thursday against the cancellation of the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), several aspirants said they have been left feeling “exploited” by the “unfairness” of the the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts both the tests.
While the NTA is embroiled in a controversy over irregularities, including inflated marks and paper leak, in NEET, the Education Ministry had on Wednesday announced the cancellation of the UGC-NET after inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs suggested that the integrity of the examinations had been compromised.
More than two dozen students from different universities and members of various student outfits were detained while they were protesting outside the Ministry of Education and Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s residence in the national capital.
The protesting students said that the NTA failed the aspirants and a retest was unfair. Kavya Mukhija, 25, a wheelchair user, said she travelled all the way from Lajpat Nagar to her centre in Rohini on June 18 to take the UGC-NET. Ms. Mukhija had to cross several hurdles to reach the exam hall, which was not accessible to persons with disabilities. The examination centre, she said, had unusable ramps. “Four staff members had to take me up on the ramp. There was no wheelchair available and another disabled candidate, who came from outside the city, had to crawl into the centre.”
Terrible experience
Appearing for a second time, she said, seems daunting.
“The retest impacts not just me but also my family as I am dependent on my mother, who is my caregiver. She took leave from work to accompany me and waited in the sweltering heat for hours on the day of the examination… It’s not fair,” she said.
Aseed Karim Hussain, 27, who was detained by Delhi Police for protesting, said he too took the NET in Rohini. “While the weather was terrible on Tuesday, the electric fans were not working properly at the exam hall. In some centres, students saw that the question papers were brought in polythene bags.”
Many others who are currently pursuing their Master’s degree in Delhi and took the test on Tuesday had planned to return to their hometown after the test. K. Gopika Babu, 23, who recently completed her Master’s degree from JNU, had planned to return to Thrissur in Kerala after the test.
“I decided to stay longer in Delhi so that I could prepare for NET and appear for the test before going home. My tickets are booked and if there is a re-examination, I will have to come back since my centre is in Delhi. I will have to spend from my pocket for no fault of mine,” she said.