Govt’s panel on exam reforms to engage with parents, students, address concerns
New Delhi: Amid ongoing controversies over alleged irregularities in competitive exams NEET and NET, officials on Tuesday announced that the Education Ministry’s panel on exam reforms will actively engage with parents and students to address their concerns and challenges regarding the examination process.
The seven-member panel, led by former ISRO chief R Radhakrishnan, convened for the first time on Monday evening.
“Our top priority is to gather feedback from students and parents across the country. We plan to engage with them in person or through electronic media over the next two weeks and consolidate their inputs,” Radhakrishnan told reporters on Tuesday.
“We aim to quickly establish a robust testing system. Our goal is to develop a secure, error-free system that reduces student stress and incorporates sufficient flexibility,” he added.
During the meeting, the committee reviewed the current situation and challenges faced by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
“The panel was briefed on the NTA’s processes and operations. They examined statistics on the various exams conducted by the NTA and the number of candidates for each,” a source revealed.
“The panel also discussed the different formats of exams, such as pen and paper versus Computer-Based Tests (CBT), and the specifics of each mode,” the source added.
Cybersecurity and challenges posed by the darknet, where the UGC-NET exam question paper was initially leaked, were also discussed. This incident led the Education Ministry to cancel the exam the day after it was conducted.
Ministry officials indicated that the panel’s suggested reforms might be implemented by the next exam cycle.
“This is a massive undertaking that requires thorough preparation to avoid any loopholes. It is currently the ministry’s top priority. The panel will submit its report within two months, and we will develop an action plan to implement the reforms by the next exam cycle,” an official stated anonymously.
In response to alleged irregularities in the NEET and NET exams, the government established the panel on Saturday to ensure transparent, smooth, and fair examinations conducted by the NTA.
While NEET is under scrutiny for multiple alleged irregularities, including leaks, the UGC-NET was cancelled after the ministry received information that the exam’s integrity was compromised. Additionally, CSIR-UGC NET and NEET PG were preemptively cancelled.
The panel will recommend reforms in the examination process, improvements in data security protocols, and enhancements to the NTA’s structure and operations.
Other panel members include former AIIMS Delhi director Randeep Guleria, Central University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor B J Rao, Professor Emeritus at IIT Madras K Ramamurthy, PeopleStrong co-founder and Karmayogi Bharat board member Pankaj Bansal, IIT Delhi Dean of Student Affairs Aditya Mittal, and Ministry of Education Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal.
The committee is also tasked with examining current security protocols for setting exam papers and other processes and making recommendations to enhance the system’s robustness.
