NEW DELHI: Over a dozen students were detained at Jantar Mantar on Wednesday after the Jawaharlal Nehru University’s Students’ Union , along with other groups, staged a protest against the NEET-UG examination issues, the police said.
The students demanded the National Testing Agency (NTA) be scrapped and called for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam.
Participants included members of various student groups such as the Left-backed All India Students Association (AISA), Delhi University’s Krantikari Yuva Sangathan and the Students Islamic Organisation (SIO). They carried posters and placards with slogans like ‘Dharmendra Pradhan resign’ and ‘Scrap NTA.’ The protestors also demanded a re-examination for NEET-UG and an end to the centralization of exams.
The police detained the students as they planned to continue their protest overnight, which is not permitted at Jantar Mantar beyond 5 pm according to a court order. “The students started putting tents at the site to continue their protest. We had to detain them as it is not allowed to sit there (at Jantar Mantar) beyond 5 pm,” an officer said.
The JNUSU has also been advocating for the scrapping of NTA-conducted exams for admissions into JNU’s PhD programs. Several NTA-administered exams, including UGC-NET and NET PG, were previously cancelled due to compromised integrity. Earlier, the students’ union submitted a memorandum to Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit, urging the reinstatement of the old JNU Entrance Examination and the removal of Common University Entrance Test scores for PhD admissions.
Earlier this week, the students’ body submitted a memorandum to Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit to reinstate the varsity’s old JNU Entrance Examination (JNUEE) and remove Common University Entrance Test (CUET) scores for PhD admissions.
Meanwhile, amid the furore the Education Ministry has shunted out National Testing Agency Director General Subodh Singh and handed over the probe into alleged irregularities in the medical entrance exam to the CBI.
