The entire education system in India is mired in problems – one of the biggest understatements of the year. The NEET-UG examination paper leak and the numerous issues surrounding the CBSE examinations and post-result processes are two glaring examples this year. These are not one-off problems. Paper leaks, the cancellation of examinations involving lakhs of students, and administrative failures have become recurring issues.
In June 2024, the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Undergraduates (NEET-UG) was embroiled in controversy. While social media was rife with allegations of paper leaks, the National Testing Agency (NTA) steadfastly denied them. However, after the results were announced, another controversy erupted when a small group of students secured unusually high marks, bordering on the near impossible. This forced the Supreme Court to intervene. The Court held that 155 students had directly benefited from paper leaks, but stopped short of declaring a systemic failure beyond isolated incidents. A deeper examination reveals that controversies surrounding NEET-UG have been recurring over the past decade.
Controversial questions, multiple correct answers, ambiguity in language, and typographical errors are merely a reflection of the incompetent manner in which examination papers are often set and handled. The Supreme Court has had to step in on more than one occasion. The first NEET examination itself was struck down by the Supreme Court, which questioned the powers of the then Medical Council of India to conduct a unified national examination across all institutions. Although states and various medical bodies reverted to their earlier systems of conducting examinations independently, the Supreme Court later revisited its decision, and NEET-UG was eventually introduced in 2016.
The opposition was quick to react with the Tamil Nadu government once again calling for NEET to be scrapped in toto. While the anger over the mishandling of such a sensitive sector as education is understandable, scrapping NEET-UG altogether would amount to throwing the baby out with the bath water.
What is required is a thorough overhaul of the system. Multiple-choice questions are not necessarily the best way of testing conceptual understanding, analytical ability, articulation and deeper comprehension. Students who can ill afford to spend lakhs of rupees on coaching classes are placed at a significant disadvantage compared to their wealthier counterparts.
Secondly, having students prepare for a single examination over 4 or 5 years is a tremendous waste of time and effort, especially when the probability of securing a medical seat remains below 4 per cent. Judging students solely on the basis of one examination makes a mockery of both school assessments and Class XII results. Even a modest weightage of 20-25 per cent for school performance in the final assessment would reduce the anomaly of students barely scraping through school examinations but ranking among the top scorers in NEET.
With so many odds stacked against them, it is hardly surprising that many talented students choose to study abroad and excel in their chosen professions. Of course, students also leave because of the severe shortage of medical seats. Reservations have added another layer of complexity, with many meritorious students feeling increasingly disadvantaged.
The second major reform should be the restructuring of the NTA by removing government nominees from its governing board. One could consider creating a truly autonomous body without government officials on its board, staffed by individuals of impeccable honesty and integrity. Why does one rarely hear of the examination papers of chartered accountants, company secretaries, IITs or IIMs being leaked? Part-timers can only do so much. What is required is a dedicated, professional team operating at every level of the examination process. Eliminating corruption is easier said than done, but how else does one explain the need to transport question papers by Air Force aircraft? Are there really no trustworthy and competent professionals capable of managing the logistics?
There is also an urgent need to increase the supply of medical seats so that more doctors can be trained in the country. The skewed distribution of medical institutions north and south of the Vindhyas must be addressed and made more equitable.
Finally, the government – particularly the bureaucracy – must recognise that all wisdom does not reside in New Delhi. It should refrain from trying to fix systems that are not broken, as was arguably the case with the CBSE examinations, which functioned reasonably well until a series of unnecessary changes were proposed.u