NEW DELHI: In view of the announcement of fresh dates to conduct the postponed National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Postgraduate (NEET-PG), which is likely to take place in August, a high-level meeting of senior officials of Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) wing of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the ministries of Information Technology and Health was held to find ways to plug any possibility of paper leak, sources said on Tuesday.
According to the sources, deliberations mostly revolved around finding ways to ensure a fool-proof system in which there is a near impossible human interface and question papers are downloaded just two hours before the start of examination.
The meeting was attended by officials from the health ministry, National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS), along with its technical partner Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and the Cyber Cell.
Besides the NEET-PG, the deliberations also took place to evaluate the robustness of the system for the conduct of the Foreign Medical Graduates Examination, which is scheduled for July 6, they added.
The meeting assumed significance, as the NEET-PG exam is likely to be held mid-August, the sources said, adding that the revised schedule is expected to be announced this week.
They said that the MHA and the ministries of Information Technology and Health are keeping a close watch on the entire matter involving paper leaks on a larger scale, as the CBI investigations are progressing in the right direction.
The NEET-PG examination was postponed and a fresh date would be announced at the earliest, the Health Ministry had announced on June 22. The exam was scheduled to be held on June 23.
“Taking into consideration the recent incidents of allegations regarding the integrity of certain competitive examinations, the ministry of health has decided to undertake a thorough assessment of the robustness of processes of the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, conducted by the National Board of Examination (NTA) for medical students,” the Ministry had then said in a statement.
“Ministry of Health sincerely regrets the inconvenience caused to the students. This decision has been taken in the best interests of the students and to maintain the sanctity of the examination process,” it had said.
SC to hear batch of pleas on NEET-UG row
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on July 8 a batch of pleas related to the controversy-ridden NEET-UG, including those alleging irregularities in the examination held on May 5 and seeking a direction that it be held afresh. According to the cause list for July 8 uploaded on the SC’s website, the batch of 26 petitions would come up for hearing before a bench comprising CJI D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra.
