Officials from the Union Ministry of Education, the National Testing Agency and the Central Bureau of Investigation have been asked to appear before a parliamentary committee on Friday in connection with matters pertaining to the conduct of entrance examinations, reported PTI. In a notice issued on Wednesday, the Rajya Sabha Secretariat said the officials had been summoned in regards to an assurance given in the Upper House of Parliament in response to an unstarred question raised on November 27, 2024, about the investigation into allegations of paper leak in the 2024 undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test.It had also included queries related to the procedure followed by the National Testing Agency to award contracts for conducting examinations through private vendors.Allegations of question paper leaks and other irregularities in the 2024 NEET for admission to undergraduate medical courses had surfaced after the results of the examination were declared on June 4 that year. In its answer in Rajya Sabha, the Ministry of Education said that the CBI was carrying out a “comprehensive investigation into the entire gamut of alleged irregularities including conspiracy, cheating, breach of trust etc” in connection with the 2024 NEET paper leak case.It said five chargesheets had been filed against 45 persons as of November 22, 2024.The ministry also said that the testing agency awarded examination contracts in line with government rules and guidelines.Complaints against vendors were handled according to the conditions laid out in contracts and tender documents, with penalties ranging from payment cuts to debarment in cases where deficiencies were established, it added. On Friday, the Committee on Government Assurances will hear from Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi, testing agency Director General Abhishek Singh and CBI Director Praveen Sood.On May 12, the testing agency cancelled the 2026 NEET-UG exam following fresh allegations of a paper leak. More than 22 lakh candidates had appeared for the test that was conducted on May 3.The CBI is investigating the matter and a fresh examination has been scheduled for June 21.This year, the test was cancelled after the Rajasthan Special Operations Group began investigating allegations that a “guess paper” circulated before the examination contained questions closely matching the actual paper.The “guess paper” contained around 410 questions, of which about 120 matched the questions asked in the chemistry section, according to the Rajasthan Police.Edited by Sneha.Also read: Why the National Testing Agency continues to fail students in India