"Shuffling bureaucrats is no solution": Mallikarjun Kharge after Centre removes NTA chief amid paper leak row

New Delhi [India], June 23 : Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said that shuffling the bureaucrats is not a solution to the "endemic problem" in the education system "rotted by the Bharatiya Janata Party" and claimed that in the NEET scam, the buck stops at the doorstep of top-level officials of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi government.
Amid the opposition's protest over NEET-UG and UGC-NET examination paper leaks, National Testing Agency (NTA) chief Subodh Kumar was replaced by PK Kharola, the current chairman and managing director of India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).
"In the NEET Scam, the buck stops at the doorstep of the top echelons of the Modi Government. Shuffling the bureaucrats is no solution to the endemic problem in the Education system rotted by the BJP. NTA was projected to be an autonomous body, but in reality, was made to serve the devious interests of the BJP/RSS," Kharge posted on X.
Kharge further said, "paper Leaks, Corruption, Irregularities and the Education Mafia have infiltrated our Education system".
"For students to get Justice, Modi government must be held accountable. Now, the NEET-PG Exam has been postponed. 4 examinations have been either cancelled/postponed in the past 10 days. This belated whitewashing exercise is of NO consequence as countless youth continue to suffer!" he added.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare postponed the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Postgraduate (NEET PG) Examination on Saturday, which was scheduled to be held on Sunday and said that a fresh date will be announced at the earliest.
The NEET-PG exams were 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 the processes of the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, conducted by the National Board of Examination for medical students," the ministry statement read.
"It has accordingly been decided, as a precautionary measure, to postpone the NEET-PG Entrance Examination, scheduled to be held on 23rd June 2024. The fresh date of this examination will be notified at the earliest," the ministry added.
"The 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," the health ministry said.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducted the NEET-UG exams, is facing criticism over alleged irregularities in the exams. This resulted in several protests across the country, with protestors and political parties demanding to disband the NTA.
An unprecedented 67 candidates achieved a perfect score of 720 marks out of 720, which added to the concerns.
The Ministry of Education said it has constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvements in data security protocols and the functioning of the NTA.
The 7-member committee, led by ISRO former chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan, will submit its report to the ministry in the next two months.