Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, on Wednesday, alleged that the National Testing Agency (NTA) failed to prevent a leak of the UGC-NET Sociology examination paper, claiming it was being sold for around Rs 2.25 lakh in several states before the test.
In a post on social media, Gandhi alleged that a 100-page PDF containing the Sociology question paper was circulated shortly before the UGC-NET examination held on June 30. He claimed that nearly 90 questions in the leaked document matched the actual examination paper.
“The serious allegations that have surfaced regarding last week’s UGC-NET exam are utterly shocking. Just a few weeks after the NEET paper leak, reports are now emerging that a 100-page PDF was circulated right before the UGC-NET exam,” Gandhi said.
He further alleged that the paper was sold for around Rs 2.25 lakh in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi and Rajasthan. According to Gandhi, the same network was also offering question papers for upcoming examinations, including CSIR-NET, the Haryana Teacher Eligibility Test (HTET) and the Assistant District Attorney (ADA) examination.
Rahul Gandhi attacks Centre over exam irregularities
Targeting the BJP-led Central government, Gandhi accused it of failing to protect students from repeated examination controversies.
“Even after the repeated scams in NEET and NET, the Modi government continues to turn a blind eye and sleep soundly, because the years of hard work put in by lakhs of students holds no value for them,” he said.
He also alleged that expecting accountability from Prime Minister Narendra Modi or Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was “futile.”
Sharing a media report, Gandhi referred to allegations made by student leaders in Haryana’s Rohtak, who claimed that questions taught to some candidates on June 28 and 29 matched those that appeared in the actual Sociology paper.
“The only tool for change is our collective voice—the resounding ‘chhatron ki goonj’ across the country, which will bring about an education revolution in India,” Gandhi added.
Candidates allege errors in Sociology paper
Apart from the alleged paper leak, several candidates who appeared for the UGC-NET Sociology examination complained about numerous spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and poorly framed questions.
Some candidates alleged that names of noted sociologists and scholars were misspelled in the paper. Others claimed several questions appeared to be AI-generated or were outside the prescribed syllabus.
Another candidate alleged that a significant number of questions closely resembled those asked in the 2024 examination.
