Millions of students in India face an uncertain future after leaks of the NEET and UGC NET exams, the latest in a string of over 70 such incidents in recent years.
The National Testing Agency (NTA), established in 2017 to bring neutrality and accessibility to exams, is under fire after a record 67 students scored perfect on the notoriously difficult NEET exam.
Ashok Ganguly, a former bigwig at the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), believes a complete overhaul is needed. He proposes a two-tier system to weed out students pressured into taking exams they have no interest in and ditching the easy-to-cheat multiple-choice questions (MCQs) for formats that assess a wider range of skills. Stricter exam centres with fewer locations and top-notch security are also on his wishlist. Ganguly emphasizes the importance of keeping exam papers under lock and key until test time and having properly trained staff conducting the exams. He even suggests taking state-level exams away from state agencies and handing them to bodies with more resources.
These reforms are urgently needed to restore faith in a system riddled with leaks. Students are stuck in limbo, waiting for the CBI to complete investigations and the courts to deliver a verdict. But one thing is clear - India's exam system is broken, and a complete revamp is needed to ensure a fair shot for all students, not just those who can mug up leaked answers.