Amid ongoing protests over NEET discrepancies and UGC-NET exam cancellations, CPI(M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury demanded the scrapping of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the resignation of the Union Education Minister on Thursday.

“Solidarity with our students — India’s future — in their struggle to safeguard their academic standards from being destroyed by this NDA government led by (Narendra) Modi,” Yechury posted on X.

He outlined his party’s demands, including the removal of the NTA system and the resignation of the Education Minister. Yechury also called for compensation for students who took the recent NET and NEET exams and the reversal of the mandatory NET score requirement for PhD admissions.

“Withdraw proposals to replace existing admission procedures with centralised entrance tests,” he added.

CPI General Secretary D Raja echoed Yechury’s sentiments, calling for the NTA’s removal. “What’s happening under the Ministry of Education is nothing short of criminal,” Raja posted on X, criticizing NEET as anti-federal and anti-poor. He condemned the NTA’s handling of exams, which led to the cancellation of UGC-NET due to paper leaks.

Raja emphasized the need for a decentralized education system and compensation for affected students, calling the current approach “inhuman” given the extreme heat conditions during exams.

The UGC canceled the UGC-NET exam citing compromised integrity, adding to the controversy over NEET irregularities, currently under Supreme Court review. The NEET-UG exam, conducted by the NTA, is crucial for admissions to medical and related courses nationwide.

Source: PTI

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