Bengal education minister Bratya Basu on Saturday said the National Testing Agency (NTA) should, on its own, consider handing over the responsibility of conducting the medical entrance examination to the state given its failures in holding the National Entrance Cum Eligibility Test (NEET).

“When the state government held the entrance test to admit students to MBBS programmes in the state, no such failure was reported. Now after this failure, the
National Testing Agency should on its own consider handing over the responsibilities to the state government,” the education minister told reporters.

The state joint entrance examination board held the state JEE examination to admit students both to BTech programmes (for engineering colleges) and MBBS programmes (for medical colleges).

The state withdrew from conducting medical entrance tests after the NTA was constituted.

Students have got admission in medical colleges across the country based on ranks obtained in the NTA conducts tests.

The Supreme Court on Friday issued notices to the Centre, CBI, the Bihar government and the National Testing Agency on a plea for a CBI probe into an alleged question paper leak during this year’s NEET-UG, held for admission to undergraduate medical seats.

The bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Meha granted the authorities two weeks to respond and posted the next hearing to July 9.

“Should there not be a probe by the CBI or ED into the failure and the irregularities that have surfaced regarding the NEET examination? The entire country is witness to what has happened,” said Bratya Basu.