The comments by Pradhan come a day after the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced revised dates for three exams which were cancelled.
The University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) which was cancelled a day after being conducted on June 18 after the education ministry received inputs that the integrity of the exam was compromised, will now be conducted from August 21 to September 4.
Pradhan had said the question paper was leaked on darknet and circulated on Telegram app. The matter is being probed by the CBI.
The UGC-NET is a test to determine the eligibility for the award of Junior Research Fellowship, for appointment of assistant professors and admission to PhD courses. In a shift from the earlier pattern, the exam was conducted in offline mode this year and on a single day. However, the rescheduled exam will be conducted according to the earlier pattern of Computer Based Test (CBT) spread across a fortnight. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) UGC-NET, which was postponed as a preemptive measure amid the row over alleged irregularities in the conduct of exams, will now be held from July 25-July 27.
The CSIR UGC-NET is accepted for PhD admissions in Chemical Sciences, Earth, Atmospheric, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, and Physical Sciences.
The National Common Entrance Test (NCET) for admission to the four-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP), which was postponed hours before its scheduled commencement on June 12, will now be conducted on July 10.
The test is held for select central and state universities or institutions, including IITs, NITs, RIEs, and government colleges.
In the line of fire over the alleged irregularities in medical entrance examination NEET-UG and PhD entrance NET, the Centre had last week notified a panel to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the NTA.
