Abhinandan Bhatia

Fora student, on examination day, all the hard work, teachers’ relentless efforts and parents’ expectations — are all at stake. Underlying every competitive examination is a tacit public trust that the system is fair, cannot be gamed, and rewards purely on merit. However, such confidence erodes due to episodes like the recent NEET paper leak, which reflects the deep-rooted systemic complacency of our institutions.

The vulnerabilities in the current method of conducting the NEET examination are evident: too many human points of failure in the channel — from officials engaged in the examination process and question paper setting to the printing press employees and logistics intermediaries. These create enormous financial incentives for organised “exam mafias” to cultivate networks of insider access.

More concerning, however, is the continued complacency and lack of urgent corrective action by the concerned authorities after the 2024 NEET exam leak. Why were the relevant agencies and departments so slow — nearly two years after the report’s submission — to adopt the recommendations of the expert committee led by Dr K Radhakrishnan?

The major recommendations included introduction of Computer Based Testing (CBT) for secure and paperless conduct of the examination across multiple shifts; equipping rural areas and each district with CBT infrastructure; utilising the infrastructure of Kendriya Vidyalayas as well as Central and State Universities; and deploying appropriate normalisation techniques for multi-session examinations.

Infrastructure will remain a challenge in ensuring accessibility to rural candidates. Apart from this, we cannot ignore the contentious normalisation methods used to equate varying difficulty levels across multiple exam shifts.

Nonetheless, we would have a more secure and credible examination system.

It is time decisive and proactive measures are taken by policymakers and public authorities towards restoring public confidence in the integrity of our examination systems.

It is the call of the hour to take stringent action against the perpetrators who desecrate the sanctity of our examinations for private gain and, in doing so, jeopardise the futures of millions of students.

(The writer is a research student at Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Delhi-NCR)