The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to the University Grants Commission (UGC), Ministry of Education, and the National Testing Agency (NTA) in response to a petition highlighting critical concerns related to the recent UGC - National Eligibility Test (NET) examination cycle.
The petition, filed by Advocate Ujjawal Gaur under Article 226 of the Constitution, calls for significant reforms to address ongoing issues within the examination process.
It might be recalled that this year, the results for the UGC-NET June session were delayed significantly, prompting the advocate to approach the court seeking intervention. However, the petition highlights several other systematic issues with the exam.
The major points highlighted in the petition include:
Flawed Normalisation Process: A call to rectify anomalies in the score normalisation process and to ensure transparent, fair results for all candidates.
Reservation Policy Implementation: The petition stresses the need for strict adherence to the constitutionally mandated quotas for OBC, SC, and ST categories, ensuring that Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) slots are distributed equitably.
Linguistic Equality: The petition urges the revision of provisions that prioritise English over Hindi in cases of discrepancies in question papers, advocating for equal treatment of Hindi-medium candidates.
Examination Reforms: Proposals to streamline the UGC-NET exam by conducting it in a single shift to avoid score discrepancies and rationalising the fee structure for challenging errors in question papers, thereby making the grievance process more accessible.
Transparency and Accountability: The petition calls for the public disclosure of key details, including the normalisation formula, cut-off criteria, and question selection methodologies, to restore trust in the examination process.
Structural Reforms: The establishment of a National Examination Tribunal to independently address technical grievances in competitive examinations is also a part of the proposed reforms.
Advocate Ujjawal Gaur, who filed the petition, emphasised the urgent need for reforms to uphold the principles of fairness, equality, and transparency within India’s education system.
"This is not just about one examination; it’s about ensuring justice for thousands of aspirants whose futures are tied to these results. The current system needs urgent reforms to align with constitutional values," Gaur said.
This year, the June cycle of the test was scheduled for June 18 in pen and paper format. However, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan disclosed that the exam was cancelled as a result of suspected leaks.
The re-examination, then, began on August 21 and ended on September 4 2024.
