Akali Dal seeks empowering states for recruitment, institution exams

Chandigarh, July 26 (AHN) The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Sunday while welcoming the proposed Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill of 2026 called for empowering the states to conduct examinations for their own recruitments and institutions.

In a statement here, senior Akali leader Daljit Singh Cheema said that while stronger punishment for those involved in paper leaks was necessary, punishment alone could not guarantee the integrity of public examinations.

He added that in the true spirit of cooperative federalism, the Union government should frame uniform national security standards while empowering the states to conduct examinations for their own recruitments and institutions.

"Decentralisation, coupled with strong national Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) will reduce systemic risks, improve accountability, strengthen public confidence and ensure better protection of the aspirations of millions of honest students," he said.

The SAD leader said that meanwhile the law should place equal emphasis on preventive measures -- robust SOPs, secure technology, end-to-end accountability, regular security audits and foolproof examination protocols to ensure that paper leaks did not occur in the first place.

"India's vast geography, linguistic diversity, varying infrastructure and technology levels, and the enormous logistical challenge of transporting confidential papers to thousands of examination centres make highly centralised examinations inherently more vulnerable," Cheema added.

The Centre is set to introduce the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha on Monday.

According to the Lok Sabha's legislative business, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Jitendra Singh will introduce the Bill to amend the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024.

The proposed amendments come after the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak controversy and subsequent students' statewide protests over alleged examination irregularities.