On Thursday (27th June), the National Testing Agency (NTA) refuted the claims that there was careless handling of student answer sheets for the Central University Entrance Test (CUET UG) 2024. The NTA issued a clarification after an ABP News report by its journalist Ajatika Singh claimed that CUET UG 2024 answer sheets were lying unlocked in metal trunks in the open at the NTA office.
The ABP report was amplified by many people on social media, with the allegation of another mishandling of another exam by NTA after the NEET-UG fiasco. However, the NTA has clarified that the allegations are fake, and the unlocked boxes seen in the video didn’t contain any answer sheet or any other document.
Taking to X, NTA said that the empty boxes seen in the viral video did not contain any sensitive papers and that the agency has sufficient security personnel guarding the place where the boxes are kept.
“These are empty boxes kept outside the hall at NTA and do not have any sensitive material inside them. Never did we keep these boxes in open, as being reported by the media. Also, we have sufficient number of security personnel deployed at the place where boxes are kept,” the NTA said.
NTA also posted a video where the metal trunks were opened for the camera, showing that they were empty and didn’t have any answer sheet in it.
These are empty boxes kept outside the hall at NTA and do not have any sensitive material inside them. Never did we keep these boxes in open, as being reported by the media. Also, we have sufficient number of security personnel deployed at the place where boxes are kept. pic.twitter.com/QBFukSEHG3
— National Testing Agency (@NTA_Exams) June 27, 2024
Notably, ABP News has removed its video that went viral on social media. OpIndia checked the link of the said video on YouTube, however, the video is now “unavailable”.
However, it has been widely shared by several educators on YouTube spreading the false claims peddled by the report in question. A YouTube channel “CUET Adda247” made a video based on ABP News’s report to assert that somehow NTA is mishandling the CUET 2024 answer sheets.
Similarly, another educational channel Malviya Academy also used the ABP News report to claim that the answer sheets of CUET candidates are lying unattended like trash. This video has received over 19 thousand views.
While ABP News’s misleading report caused panic among CUET-UG 2024 candidates, the media publication did not even care to issue an apology, especially at a time when there was already much uproar over the NEET-UG 2024 exam. Its reporter Ajatika Singh, who had filed the report, has also refrained from offering any clarification or apology.
Moreover, the President of the Congress party’s student wing National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), Varun Chaudhary posted the said videos, originally posted by Ajatika, on X to attack the Central government alleging a “scam” without confirming the veracity of the claims made in the video.
“When ABP News journalist @Ajatikaa investigated the NTA office, she saw an amazing scam. CUET-UG answer sheets are lying in the open, the packages are not sealed. Many months have passed, the result has not come yet. Education Minister @dpradhanbjp please answer, has CUET-UG students also been cheated?” Chaudhary posted.
This comes just days after another misleading claim about NTA was made. It was claimed that the testing agency’s website was hacked. However, the NTA clarified later that all its portals and the website are fully secure. Similarly, several netizens recently claimed that NTA is a private organisation and it does not come under the Right to Information Act. The same claim was made by a Congress worker named Harmeet Kaur K on X. However, the claim that it is a private society and does not come under laws such as RTI are completely false.
The Central University Entrance Test for 2024, conducted by the National Testing Agency, was held on multiple dates in May this year, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, and 24 May 2024. The test took place in hybrid mode in test centres in 379 cities, including 26 cities outside India. Around 13.48 lakh students appeared in the exam.
The results for CUET UG 2024 are expected to be released on 30 June, while the NTA is expected to publish the answer keys anytime.
