Lucknow saw a demonstration in response to the purported anomalies in the NEET-UG 2024 results.
In response to claims of irregularities in the administration of the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams, the central government announced on Saturday that Director General Subodh Kumar Singh of the National Testing Agency (NTA) had been removed.
Singh’s services will be placed on mandatory wait at the personnel and training department until further orders, according to a statement released by the Ministry of Personnel.
Pradeep Kumar Kharola, chairman and managing director of the India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), has been assigned extra responsibility for the testing agency until a regular incumbent is appointed.
“Until the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier, the appointments committee of the cabinet has approved the assignment of additional charge of the post of Director General, National Testing Agency, Ministry of Education to Shri Pradeep Singh Kharola, IAS (Retd), chairman and managing director, India Trade Promotion Organisation,” the government said in a statement on Saturday.
The action was taken just hours after the government declared the formation of a high-level committee to examine how the NTA is run, with K Radhakrishnan, the former chair of the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro), leading the committee.
The action is also a component of the testing agency’s anticipated revamp, which Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has mentioned.
Allegations of paper leaks and other irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, which is required for admission to medical and allied sciences institutes, have put the agency under scrutiny.
Subsequent to recommendations from government authorities, the UGC-NET exam—which determines eligibility for junior research fellowships (JRF) and assistant professor positions in universities and colleges—was cancelled.