On Friday, the Centre applied a formidable statute designed to eradicate malpractices and discrepancies in aggressive examinations, stipulating extreme penalties, together with a most incarceration interval of 10 years and fines reaching as much as Rs 1 crore for transgressors.
Roughly 4 months subsequent to President Dropadi Murmu’s ratification of The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, the Personnel Ministry launched a notification on Friday evening, declaring that the regulation’s provisions would take impact on June 21.
This measure holds substantial significance amidst a heated controversy over the UGC-NET, 2024, examination’s query paper breach. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) lodged a case on Thursday to research the query paper leakage of the examination orchestrated by the Nationwide Testing Company (NTA).
Moreover, opposition factions have alleged discrepancies within the NEET-UG medical entrance examination, the outcomes of which had been disseminated by the NTA on June 4.
“Within the train of powers conferred by sub-section (2) of part 1 of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (1 of 2024), the Central Authorities hereby designates the twenty first day of June, 2024, because the date on which the provisions of the aforementioned Act shall turn into operative,” the notification proclaimed.
The announcement of the Act coincided with Union Schooling Minister Dharmendra Pradhan being queried in regards to the timeline for the laws’s enforcement. The minister had disclosed that the regulation ministry was within the strategy of formulating the rules.
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Invoice, 2024, secured passage within the Rajya Sabha on February 9, following its approval within the Lok Sabha on February 6. President Murmu sanctioned the invoice on February 12, thereby enacting it into regulation.
The Act’s goal is to thwart unfair practices in public examinations performed by entities such because the Union Public Service Fee (UPSC), the Employees Choice Fee (SSC), the railways, banking recruitment examinations, and the Nationwide Testing Company (NTA), amongst others.
It incorporates stringent measures, together with imprisonment starting from three to 5 years to fight dishonest, with these implicated in organized dishonest operations dealing with 5 to 10 years of incarceration and a minimal nice of Rs 1 crore.
Previous to this laws, there was no particular, substantive regulation addressing unfair strategies employed or offenses dedicated by varied entities concerned in conducting public examinations by the central authorities and its businesses. The Act goals to dismantle organized syndicates and establishments engaged in unfair practices for monetary acquire whereas safeguarding candidates from its provisions, as said by Union Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh.
