This blog is written by Sneha Awasthi, a Second-Year law student of Chhatrapati Shahu Ji Maharaj University Kanpur

Introduction

NTA stands for the National Testing Agency, an autonomous organization responsible for conducting various entrance examinations for admission to higher educational institutions in India. It was established in 2017 and it aims to bring transparency and efficiency to the examination process and conducts exams like JEE, NEET, and UGC NET. NEET has fully replaced the AIPMT (All India Pre-Medical Test) and became the unified exam for medical colleges in India.

Coming to this year,[1] a total of 24 lakh students have registered for NEET. Online registration for the exam started on 9th February and was extended till 16th March. Suddenly, on April 9, the NTA declared that the registration would be re-opened for two days on ‘stakeholders’ request’ violating all norms of free and fair conducting of the examination.

Allegations and Investigation

As soon as the exam was concluded a cheating incident emerged from the Godhra district of Gujarat. Police investigation revealed that there was a nexus between the coaching institute and an exam centre; the centre was Jai Jalram school. The students who gave exams here were asked to Fill OMR sheet with the answers they were sure about and the rest were filled by the coaching institute’s teachers. Investigation revealed that parents of these students paid ten lakh rupees for this. Fortunately, the district magistrate of Godhra got a tip and then they got the police to investigate so the scam was stopped at 10 am during the exam. In this case Gujarat police arrested 5 people. The Gujarat police handed over the case to CBI but Godhra wasn’t the only place where the scam was going on another scam found in Patna when the exam started Patna police got the news of a white Renault duster when the police caught the car, they found three members of an organized gang and four NEET aspirants admit card also the aspirants were asked to visit a play school where answer were given to them basically they leaked the paper after the investigation it was found that their parents have given 25-30 lakhs to Gang members.

Now when the Bihar police was arresting all these people the NTA agency said that the NEET UG paper wasn’t leaked. Bihar police informed that NTA has not dealt with the issue with sincerity and urgency which was required.

Some police officers lamented that too many leakage points in conducting this exam cause gangs to exploit.

When the NEET result was declared on 4th June it was revealed that 67 candidates had secured AIR 1. It was known that NTA had given grace marks to many students. In fact, 44 out of 67 toppers were given grace marks because their answers to a basic physics question was incorrect. NTA also gave grace marks to many students because the exam center didn’t give them enough time. The NTA used a 2018 SC judgement to decide how many grace marks students would be given.

It was revealed that in the Bahadurgarh area of Haryana Har Dayal Public School was an exam centre where 6 out of 67 toppers took their exams all students scored a perfect score and were given 140 grace marks for time loss. Also, a solver gang was known at 22nd June that they give exam papers a day before the exam via telegram or dark net

Other exams were cancelled as on 19th June UGC-NET matter was in the hands of CBI As the paper was leaked on dark net. than on 21th June CSIR-UGC NET due to unavoidable circumstances Also NEET-PG on 22nd June was cancelled

Re-examination have been conducted for all those 1563 students with grace marks as the SC had asked for it

The issues with NTA

NTA is overburdened with the responsibility of exams having low resources. As we can say that if a single body handles so many exams there will be mistakes for sure. Also, they are understaffed.

In a paper-based exam which is at national level it’s tough to organise it as there are many levels from paper setting to printing and then transportation of papers so there is possibility of human interference. So, computer-based tests are more secure as the possibility of human interference is reduced.

Another problem of NTA is lack of accountability as Ayesha Kidwai, professor of linguistics at JNU said that NTA functions like a private institution which has the largest monopoly of conducting entrance exams. As there’s no transparency.

Impact on Students

The spate of cheating scandals and exam cancellations that occurred affected students across the country of India. First of all, the process of examination was made completely questionable and today honest students have no trust in examinations. Teachers and persons responsible for the disciplining of students reported increased cases of misbehaviour by learners, many of whom had been preparing for the tests in anticipation for university learning.

The sudden cancellation and rescheduling also affected the stress and anxiety of students to such an extent that disrupted their academic calendars and their future life objectives. In order to academically perform and succeed well, it also denied those who had passed the first sets of examinations the ability to immediately secure college placements or scholarships which added more stress and confusion. Also, the aspects of granting grace marks to some students saw some resentment and unfair policies as it depicted that the system was giving marks to deserving candidates without they earning it rather they were compensating their own shortcomings.

Furthermore, when such large-scale fraud in examinations becomes apparent, the future sustainability of the education system comes under threat, and kills morale of students who begin to doubt the meaning of working so hard to top their examinations. In general, the scandal caused people to lose their trust, developed a feeling of unfairness, and most students are in confusion and distress.

Stopping Scam

To steer clear of NEET exam scams, there is a necessity for NTA to strengthen up its authority in terms of officials and available funds, apart from adding advanced security features and boost up in the technological sector. This ranges from fingerprint and face identification points at different levels, the special black bar-coded test papers that cannot be altered and are unique to each candidate. Real time examination of the exam spots can be done using the advanced technologies like AI and machine learning while block chain can further enhance the security of examination processes and information. This can be supported by trained and non-partisan invigilators and surveillance cameras whose monitoring is done live. Severe legal consequences along with punitive measures and fast-track courts are necessary for making those involved in scams leave no stone unturned. Further, expansion of the number of test centres and decentralising the examination centres, in addition to random allocation of students into examination centres can also reduce congestion and cheating. Thus, by developing these detailed actions, it is possible to enhance the NEET examination and decrease the probability for scams, as well as to provide a fair system for everyone.

Combining all these measures, it is possible to greatly enhance the vulnerability of the NEET examination system, making it difficult for scammers to operate while making the process as transparent for all the participants as possible.

Conclusion

The NTA paper leak scandal has dealt a big blow to the credibility of the examination system and it left the students demoralized and brought into light certain loopholes. This brings to focus the necessity of extreme measures, responsibility and action to revive the lost trust and protect the sanctity and future of competitive examinations in education.

Reference

1. Mohd Salman ‘What is NTA: Know Which Exams Does it Conduct, Why is it in News’ (June 20,2024) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.jagranjosh.com/articles/amp/what-is-nta-nationaltesting-agency-full-form-which-exams-are-conducted-by-it-1718879921-1

2. Anirudh Nikhare ‘Did the NTA Scam NEET UG Result 2024?’ (12 Jun 2024)

https://blog.finology.in/Legal-news/neet-result-scam-2024

3. Gujarat Police unearth NEET ‘scam’ at Godhra centre, arrest five The Hindu’ (June 14 2024) https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/gujarat-police-unearths-neet-exam-scandal-in-godhracentre/article68290666.ece

4. Anmol Nath Bali ‘Students protest in Delhi to demand scrapping of NTA, autonomy in entrance exams’ (Jun 27, 2024) https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.indiatoday.in/amp/india/story/students-protest-in-delhi-todemand-scrapping-of-nta-autonomy-in-entrance-exams-2558748-2024-06-27

5. Explained: NEET UG Row Bihar Chapter And The Missing Link Of A Mysterious Professor ( Jun 25, 2024) https://www.google.com/amp/s/timesofindia.indiatimes.com/education/news/explained-neet-ugrow-bihar-chapter-and-the-missing-link-of-a-mysteriousprofessor/amp_articleshow/111254584.cms