NTA sacks 47 officials in major crackdown amid Jantar Mantar protests

Amid the ongoing Cockroach Janata Party-led protest at Jantar Mantar over paper leaks, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has reportedly terminated 47 officials from service.

The agency responsible for holding the NEET exam would also initiate legal and criminal actions against some of the sacked officials, reported news agency ANI.

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Citing unnamed sources, the agency further stated that the action is part of a complete overhaul of the testing agency, which has also been at the centre of the paper leak protest.

The action follows the appointment of two new secretaries in the Education Department. Vineet Joshi, who was the Higher Education Secretary, has been transferred as Secretary of the Department of Panchayati Raj.

Naresh Pal Gangwar has been appointed as the new Secretary of the Department of Higher Education, and TK Anil Kumar will be the new School Education Secretary.

The government has been facing massive student protests at Jantar Mantar over paper leaks. The protests, spearheaded by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), have also spread to other parts of the country after a brutal police crackdown on students on July 20.

Education reforms and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan are among the key demands of the CJP.

Earlier today, Union Health Minister JP Nadda and Union Minister Jitendra Singh met with CJP representatives to discuss their demands.

According to the CJP, the government agreed in principle to two of their demands while seeking a day’s time to respond on the third–Pradhan’s resignation.

The meeting, held at a neutral venue after the CJP’s refusal to go to Nadda’s residence, lasted for almost two hours.

“They had three main demands and five reform suggestions for exams. We have told them that we will meet them again tomorrow afternoon and tell them about the discussion we had within the government,” he said.