Amid protests and echoes of a NEET re-test by students and organisations, alleging irregularities in the marking system used by NTA we have come across historical proceedings of the Supreme Court.

On July 8, the Supreme Court during its hearing stated that it was “ clear that leak of NEET UG question paper has taken place. We want to know the number of beneficiaries of question paper leak, and what action has been taken against them.” The bench of three judges (DY Chandrachud with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra )  accepted that the NEET paper was leaked through telegram, WhatsApp and other electronic means. It stated that when such papers got leaked it spread like a ‘wildfire’.  

Enquiry

They mentioned that the Court is aware of the fact that they are dealing with the lives of 23 lakh students. If the beneficiaries of the paper leaks are not found or arrested then the court has to order the reconduction of the examination. It has presented several questions to CBI and NTA and ordered them to file their affidavits by 5 pm July 10 and share these with petitioners as well. Court also wanted to know how many of them were among those students who were beneficiaries of grace marks provided by NTA. It  asked NTA regarding the steps taken to identify those beneficiaries, and the time duration between the leak of exams and occurrence on 5 May.  

However, NTA was not in Favour of conducting of the entire exam again. It apprehended that it can  “seriously jeopardise” lakhs of honest candidates without proof of large-scale breach of confidentiality. 

“It is also submitted that at the same time, in the absence of any proof of any large-scale breach of confidentiality in a pan-India examination, it would not be rational to scrap the entire examination and the results already declared,” the Centre said. “Scrapping the exam in its entirety would seriously jeopardise the lakhs of honest candidates who attempted the question paper in 2024,” the Education Ministry said. 

Thus in a nutshell we can say that the center is in search of proof for mass malpractice with the questions of the examination system on 5th May. The next hearing is on 11th July when we can expect to observe the final decision. 

 References

Indian express , The Hindu

The post “It is clear that sanctity of NEET has been compromised”  appeared first on DU Times.

Amid the NEET controversy, now educationalists are in a view that the entire testing and examination system needs significant reforms. While preparing their tests, psychologists use a term known as ‘predictive validity’, which refers to a test that is valid if the results correlate with future behaviour. For instance, if any test does show that a person is a good leader then her behavior must correlate to the results of the test in the workplace too. Now the predictive validity of the tests is questionable with such controversies about whether such tests are measuring what they purport to measure. 

For various controversial reasons, we got 67 toppers in the NEET examination this year. Not only in medical exams but lack of seats and gradual inflation of aspirants has become common now. We are lacking the required medical seats that can fulfil the doctor-population ratio which is required in society. After such problems were raised with the examination and the Supreme Court’s statement which questioned its “sanctity”, now students are questioning how viable it is to believe the testing agencies of government.  

Also, institutions such as CBSE when conducting its exams, generally have a mixture of objective and subjective question papers are visible. It is to check the holistic abilities of the student. However, now it is also a questionable fact that how much predictive validity, just objective question papers or subjective papers in DU have? How viable it is to say now that a person scoring good marks on this paper will prove herself as a talented candidate?

Problems with just objective or subjective question papers 

Especially in the disciplines of humanities and social sciences, the question papers are completely subjective at Delhi University. Exams of NTA inclusive of NEET and CUET are completely objective papers. Relying solely on just one format of paper does possess a lot of problems. Such as: – 

1. How is the subjective and diversity of knowledge checked when we just have objective question papers? 
2. How shall we ensure the fundamentals are clear when we do not have a single objective question in the question paper? 
3. Why are students in the view that filling the pages in exams, especially in DU will provide more marks? 
4. How practical is the reference list provided for DSCs of honours courses where it is generally observed that one semester is not of complete 6 months? 
5. Isn’t it viable to argue that guesswork plays a significant role too in objective questions? When we have four options there is a 25 percent probability of one option being correct even in random guesses.  
6. How inclusive is today’s examination pattern? 

Voice of reforms 

In 1948 Radha Krishnanan Commission postulated that “If we are to suggest one single reform in University Education, it should be that of examinations.” 

The NPERC states that “Examination reform cannot be construed as an isolated activity to bring about process orientation. It has to go as a package along with reform in the structuring of courses and flexibility for students to avail of the restructured courses according to their convenience.” 

Thus, it is very apparent here that voices are there in Favour of the need for reforms. We have to make the examinations more inclusive and as per the market demands. It is an unfortunate situation for us that educated students are finding it difficult to fit themselves in the market. 

Suggestive reforms 

We need a change and direction here. The following changes can help us to make these examinations more viable. 

1. Inclusion of industries in setting up examination patterns. Finding jobs in the cluttered market seems to be difficult as the standards are not equivalent to it. If we want an employed youth, the process framing of the curriculum itself must have the contribution of industries and the required skill set. 
2. We must have both objective and subjective patterns of examination to make it more inclusive and diverse. 
3. We need a separate committee to examine the viability of the present examination system. 
4. There is a need for decentralization of political power in the education sector. Thus, the reforms can be implemented from grass root levels 
5. The paper leaks and exam mafias do require ‘treatment’ from the government. It is very unfortunate for students to see their efforts vanish as a result. 
6. Students need more transparency in the evaluation process. 

Thus, in a nutshell, we can conclude that it is high time to make the examination system much more viable. We need an accurate, viable and transparent examination system that can provide a level playing field for everyone. 

References

Youth library, Freepik images

https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/essay/examination-reforms-in-india/45224#:~:text=In%20order%20to%20reform%20the,commission%20too%20repeated%20these%20reforms.

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After national level tests like JEE, NEET, and CLAT, among others, were postponed, now, preparations are being made to conduct examinations for admission in engineering, medical and other courses.

According to sources, the NEET 2021 can be shifted to September . However, a final decision in this regard is yet to be taken and the Ministry is in process of reviewing the COVID-19 situation across states and UTs.

Let’s dive in for the latest updates regarding these National Entrance Tests-

NEET- ( National eligibility cum entrance test) it is held for admission in medical colleges across the country, and currently, there is talk of postponing the NEET UG 2021 for the time being. Till now the government has not given any clear decision regarding this. This examination is to be conducted on August 1.

With no recent announcements, students now want to know if NEET will be held as per the schedule announced earlier.
“It is almost confirmed that NEET 2021 is going to be postponed. In 1 month it is not possible to complete all process of form fill up,” said Nitesh Bhakar.

Apart from this, the latest update regarding the engineering entrance exam JEE Main is that the Union Education Ministry is hoping to conduct the remaining two phases of the engineering entrance exam JEE Main 2021 in July and August. According to a report in Aaj Tak, a final decision in this regard is yet to be taken as the ministry is in the process of reviewing the COVID-19 situation.

As of now, the date of JEE Main exam has not changed. According to the fixed date sheet, this exam will be held on July 17, 2021. The results of the same will be announced on August 14. Notably, the exam was to be held earlier in April but was postponed due to the second wave of COVID-19.

The post NEET, JEE main 2021- suspense on the rise among students appeared first on DU Times.

Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal on June 25 shared a special message for CBSE Board Exam 2021 students. The education minister said that students who are dissatisfied with their Class 10, 12 results can appear for physical exams that would likely be conducted in August if the situation is favourable.

CBSE Board Exam 2021 for Class 10, 12 has been cancelled by the Board due to the rise in COVID19 cases across the country. The Board has framed separate evaluation criteria for Class 10 and Class 12. The evaluation criteria was accepted by the Supreme Court on June 18, 2021, for Class 12. The result will be declared by CBSE by July 31, 2021.

The exam dates and other details of physical exams (if conducted) will be released by the Board in due course of time.

In a major upset, no announcement regarding JEE Main 2021 or NEET 2021 exam dates were made. The message was only to assure the students of the safety and to share the process of CBSE Result 2021 calculation. Lakhs of students are eagerly waiting for the clarity on the pending competitive exams. It may be worthy to point out here that the Education Minister did not conduct a live session. The message was a pre-recorded message for the stduents.
In the recorded message , the Education Minister has shared that the CBSE optional exams may be conducted in August or any other later date, in case situation is conducive. He has also insisted that the safety of the students is paramount to the government.

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