- As you are aware, the NEET-UG conundrum that singed lakhs of medical students aspiring to get into professional institutions not only hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons but also besmirched the reputation of the National Testing Agency (NTA) to a great extent. The news of competitive exam papers getting leaked via unscrupulous elements came as a big shock for the countrymen. Notably, even the competitive exams for professional courses are no longer immune from the bane of corruption tainting them must be worrying. Apart from the traumatized students not knowing what was in store for them vis-à-vis the admission process, the parents of the students were in for an uncertain future since the news of paper leaks started making rounds.
PC: News18
- The matter reached the Supreme Court portals when several aggrieved students and parents approached the land’s highest court. Thankfully, the SC refused a retest, but it is no cause for relief since the controversy makes it abundantly clear how flawed our competitive testing system is. Further, SC’s refusal to order a NEET-UG retest, on the ground there wasn’t evidence of a systemic leak, has put the lid on the controversy for the time being. The court’s decision is based on an analysis of results, which did not indicate candidates of centers under scanner doing exceptionally well. It was also mindful of the impact of such a decision on 2.4 million students who took the test this year. The SC could not have ignored this premise completely.
- A word of caution is not out of place here. The Centre should not consider SC’s stance a victory for its position. For, the same SC has unequivocally acknowledged that question papers were leaked at Hazaribagh and Patna Centres. Moreover, we now have an ungainly scenario of all-India rankings being changed at the last stage because 4L students were granted marks for wrong answers – which, incidentally, was the correct answer in an older NCERT textbook. Do we need more proof that we face a mess? It’s amply visible how the NTA has messed up our examination system for the students aspiring for professional courses. The way forward is clear. The pen-and-paper format must be replaced with the more secure offline Computer-Based-Test (CBT).
PC: India Today
- Given the huge number of examinees and keeping JEE’s relative success in mind, NEET-UG must be made a two-stage exam, with the second stage being conducted with help from top medical institutions. To allow them to give their best, candidates should have the choice to take exams more than once a year. Also, how exam centers are selected is all-important. Allowing outsourcing of work by successful bidders, as NTA has been doing, won’t do. Roping in one of the top companies in the business is the best option. Additionally, the creation of a question bank and proper use of technology to frame questions would add another layer of security. We need genuine concern for young people’s future, not the bureaucratic mindset NTA has shown thus far.
