Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked the government and demanded that the National Testing Agency (NTA)’s leadership be held accountable after the agency said it would re-conduct the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) for English, commerce and sociology. He said that Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation as Union education minister on July 25 after student protests against examination irregularities was not the last step but only the first.
NTA still won’t answer the real question – were these papers leaked before the exam? The NTA on Sunday said it will re-conduct the UGC-NET for English, commerce and sociology, after a panel found factual, typographical and translation errors in the question papers, which also repeated portions from previous examinations. In a post on X, Gandhi addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him to look at what his NTA has just done. Thousands of candidates who prepared for years, filled forms, paid the fees, and travelled to distant centres must now do it all again in September. NTA makes the mistake, but the student serves the sentence. “It takes your money, your years, your mental health, and your confidence and returns nothing. Not even a job. “Just like every other compromised paper, I am absolutely sure there will be no accountability. “PM Modi built a system that cannot run an exam and then blames the students who take it. Gandhi’s party colleague, Sachin Pilot, echoed him and demanded accountability. Given NTA’s proven track record of incompetence in conducting examinations efficiently and accurately — the question is not merely whether this agency can conduct examinations, but how fair and just the system is. Students pay the price. So, the question remains the same — where is the accountability of the [education] ministry and NTA? Pilot asked.
Because it set faulty papers and repeated old questions, nearly two months later, NTA has cancelled all three. “UGC-NET exams for sociology, English and commerce were held between 22 and 30 June. “Yet again, the inefficiency of NTA has come to light, with the agency acknowledging complaints received regarding UGC-NET 2026 for multiple papers – English, commerce, and sociology. The announcement impacts over 20,000 candidates. It came months after the testing agency scrapped the May 3 National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET (UG) examination after a paper leak. That NEET (UG) cancellation affected 2.2 million students and sparked nationwide protests, including the Jantar Mantar agitation in Delhi, which prompted Pradhan to step down.
He said this is no longer an education system but an “extraction machine”. Gandhi said that, just like every other arm of the Modi government, NTA never says it is their fault. He referred to students taking the UGC-NET again in September and said they are not the problem. Your years are being stolen, and we will not stop until PM Modi answers for it,” Gandhi said.
