JOIN USThe Centre plans to make sweeping reforms in admission procedures to professional courses, including medical education. According to the HRD ministry, the newly created National Testing Agency (NTA) will henceforth conduct all major entrance examinations, such as NEET, NET and JEE. One major change envisaged by the NTA is to shift from paper-baed examinations to computer-based testing, and to use scientific methods like psychometric tests and standardisation techniques. These reforms are probably inspired by the testing methods used in countries such as the United States and Canada where, for instance, the best medical schools admit students who excel in the Medical College Aptitude Test (MCAT), which is a computer-based standardised examination designed to assess a student’s critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. But, their testing does not end with MCAT scores. The applicant’s undergraduate scores, letters of recommendation and the strength of an interview are all considered before he is provisionally admitted to a medical school, where again he goes through one-on-one interviews with the faculty. A candidate aspiring to be a doctor must prove not only his scholarship, but his integrity as well.
Unless the NTA follows all these procedures as done in the advanced countries, online testing by itself will not be much of a reform. Worse, in the absence of affirmative action, online testing could put test-takers from the underprivileged classes at a disadvantage, while digitally savvy candidates could will have an edge over others even if they do not possess qualities that go to make a good physician. Conversely, a candidate who may have the potential to become a caring and compassionate doctor may fail for lack of computer skills to excel in an online test. The NTA must therefore devise a method to identify candidates who possess both critical thinking and a caring attitude since doctors need both to take the right decisions in emergencies.
While it is true that much more ground can be covered in multiple choice questions, patients do not come as multiple choice problems. Besides, a written test filters out candidates who lack basic knowledge of scientific concepts, while a personal interview will identify articulate, caring applicants who will surely make good physicians and surgeons. Perhaps the NTA could blend all three methods into one test, with a written examination, a multiple choice questionnaire, followed by an interview, to identify suitable candidates. Similar considerations should certainly apply to candidates being selected through the NET and other examinations to be teachers, research fellows, engineers, etc. In short, the reform of higher education entrance tests must be holistic, not just replace the current testing agency and the testing medium.