DC Edit | Cancellations Hit NEET Credibility
A national entrance examination for medical courses has its genesis in the orders of the Supreme Court of India, which was grappling with cases related to irregularities in the tests conducted by the states.
The cancellation of the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for admission to undergraduate medical courses in the country after allegations of a question paper leak emerged is a deeply disappointing development, not only for the students who took the test but also for all those who trust in the sanctity of competitive examinations in this country.
A national entrance examination for medical courses has its genesis in the orders of the Supreme Court of India, which was grappling with cases related to irregularities in the tests conducted by the states. The court suggested a unified testing mechanism to end the vices associated with the then-existing system. The court directives were later considered by Parliament, which passed the Indian Medical Council (Amendment) Act, 2016, with a view to ending the multiplicity of examinations, ensuring fair and transparent examinations and adopting a non-exploitative admission process.
The law delivered on the primary expectations: a student is required to write a single examination for admission to all medical institutions in the country, and admission is based on the marks scored in it. It has, to a great extent, eliminated huge monetary transactions for admission, though they are still going on behind the scenes. However, the question remains as to how fair and transparent the examination itself is.
There have been allegations of question paper leaks in previous years too. The NEET examination in 2024 was followed by serious allegations that the secrecy of the question papers had been breached, though the Supreme Court of India refused to cancel it. Several states, including Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and West Bengal, opposed the common examination for various reasons, the primary one being the importance it gives to entrance coaching, which can disadvantage children from lower economic strata.
The Union government must think of overhauling a system that is yet to inspire the confidence of society. It must examine whether the National Testing Agency has the wherewithal to conduct such a test in which approximately 22 lakh students appear. It must take cues from the IIT-JEE, which the Indian Institutes of Technology have conducted for more than seven decades. An attempt must also be made to explore how to make the examination more inclusive. The government must use this unfortunate and inexcusable event to reform NEET.
