BENGALURU: KARNATAKA Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar said that the state would proceed with Common Entrance Test (CET) counselling for engineering and other professional courses without waiting for NEET results.
Speaking during the protest staged by Youth Congress members at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Thursday, where thousands of students and Congress workers gathered over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, the minister announced that the state will go ahead with allotment of seats for engineering and other courses, delinking this process with NEET, adding that CET results are likely to be declared next week. He reiterated the Congress government’s demand to revert to the pre-NEET system.
AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala attacked the BJP-led NDA government, accusing it of “collapsing” the education system, citing instances of various paper leaks while pointing out its “systemic failure” in conducting national-level examinations.
“For the last 12 years, the Modi government has handed over India’s education system to an education mafia and paper leak mafia,” he said. He alleged that multiple recruitment and entrance examinations, including NEET and other competitive tests, had been compromised during the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
‘Paper Leak Pe Charcha’
Referring to past controversies, Surjewala cited the Vyapam case and alleged paper leaks in recruitment exams, calling them part of a continuing “pattern of failure” in the country’s examination system. He said the country now needed a “Paper Leak Pe Charcha” instead of the Prime Minister’s “Pariksha Pe Charcha”. He alleged that the current system increasingly favoured coaching centre networks and “education mafias”, while making it a disadvantage for students from rural areas and smaller towns.
Referring to the 2024 NEET controversy, he alleged that 67 students had secured full marks while thousands received grace marks, raising concerns over the examination’s credibility. He also criticised the Centre for allegedly ignoring recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee, including proposals for digital question paper delivery and biometric verification.
Questioning the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA), Surjewala referred to arrests made by the CBI in connection with the alleged leak and demanded answers from Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and the PM.
Later, as the protesters attempted to march towards the Lok Bhavan, the march was curtailed by the police and the protestors were detained, while they even tried to cross the barricades that had been erected.
