Common exam model undermines autonomy

Some complaints raised about the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) earlier this month by students have snowballed into a much bigger crisis that has gripped India’s examination system.

Many irregularities in the conduct of the NEET-UG have come to light, and a few arrests have been made. Major exams like the National Eligibility Test (NET), the National Common Entrance Test (NCET), and the CSIR-UGC NET were either cancelled or postponed.

The government has suspected that the integrity of the exam process was compromised in the cancelled tests. It has sacked the head of the National Testing Agency (NTA) whose job it is to conduct the examinations, and ordered a CBI inquiry into the alleged malpractices.

It has also set up a committee to examine the NTA’s functioning and recommend ways for fair conduct of exams. It has brought into effect a law to prevent the use of unfair means in exams.

Initially, the government was trying to defend the NTA and its chief, and making out that the irregularities were not serious. It is not just this year that problems were reported in these examinations.

Problems like impersonation, wrong questions, and incorrect scores have always been there, and they were dismissed as stray issues that happen in large examinations. 

The NTA was set up in 2017 to create an examination system of global standards. It is among the world’s largest testing agencies, conducting examinations for millions of students every year. 

One aim behind setting it up was to ensure that there were no malpractices in the conduct of examinations. Another was efficient and timely conduct of tests which would help the entire academic system run smoothly. But the NTA has given rise to the same problems it was expected to counter. 

There is a need to look at how a centralised examination system such as that presided over by the NTA suits India with so many diverse educational institutions and boards.

The NTA represents the ‘one country, one exam’ norm which is derived from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s politics. It is an accepted practice the world over for universities to decide on their academic matters.

There was no discussion with universities on the inclusion of PhD admissions in the central scheme. Centralised tests like the NEET favour urban students, and work against rural students and those from poorer backgrounds.

The coaching industry thrives on such exams. The NEET fiasco shows that a few persons, students or others, from some parts of the country can upset the lives and educational plans of 2.5 million students. The system needs a review in the light of the issues that have come up.