The number of students appearing for the NEET examination has more than doubled in a decade. This year, more than 24 lakh students competed for less than 1,10,000 seats.
The controversy over this year’s qualifying examination to medical colleges, the National Eligibility-Cum-Entrance Test (NEET), draws attention to longstanding systemic deficits. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has reversed the grace marks of more than 1,500 candidates and given them the option of a re-test. These students were initially given the wrong question paper. They were then given compensatory marks to make up for the time lost in switching over to the correct paper. It required the Supreme Court’s nudge, in response to a slew of petitions, for the NTA to admit this “technical glitch”. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that the error happened in only six of the more than 4,500 examination centres. Even then, such a mess is consequential, especially in a high-stakes examination in which every mark is seen as decisive. The NTA was created in 2017 to conduct national-level examinations to higher institutions of learning. It does a fairly creditable job of holding the joint entrance examination of the IITs. But this year, the agency’s conduct of the NEET has left much to be desired. As the Supreme Court observed on Tuesday, the examination’s “sanctity has been compromised”.
The petitions to the Supreme Court have drawn attention to the extraordinarily high number of students who secured perfect marks. Sixty-seven students maxed this year’s exam, and a number of others have received a mark or two less — compare this to two toppers last year, one top ranker in 2022 and three toppers in 2021. The unusual numbers triggered allegations of arbitrary marking. The NTA’s response has been unconvincing. The agency first ascribed the maximum scores to “a comparatively easy paper”. It has since then shifted the needle to grace marks. However, as this newspaper’s report points out, only six of the 67 toppers benefited from compensatory marks.
The number of students appearing for the NEET examination has more than doubled in a decade. This year, more than 24 lakh students competed for less than 1,10,000 seats. The high social value placed on medical — and engineering — education across India and the mismatch between demand and supply has fuelled hyper-competition. In such a situation, the NEET has become more of an elimination test than an examination that tests the aptitude of prospective doctors. The examination is also extremely brutal — only 0.25 make it to the top colleges. In recent years, the government has initiated conversations to reform the educational landscape. It should conduct similar exercises to address the shortfalls in medical education. For starters, it could take a cue from the UGC’s recent provision that allows bi-annual admissions in colleges and universities. Holding the NEET examination twice a year could ease some of the pressure on the medical education system. In the long run, ways must be found to increase opportunities and make them accessible, thereby making the examination system less fraught.
Click here for real-time updates on the Lok Sabha Election Results 2024
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 15-06-2024 at 07:05 IST
