‘NEET Exam Needs to Follow JEE Model of Entrance Tests’
Gayatri Singh, a NEET aspirant from Lucknow, expresses her anguish over how paper leaks shatter the hopes and hard work of students. Her views:
This was my first attempt at NEET after securing an impressive percentage in my Class 12 board examinations. I had been preparing for this exam for the past several years. Not only for me, but it was also a tapasya for my parents, who supported me in every possible way and ensured they were always around while I studied for 12 to 14 hours a day for both NEET-UG and the board examinations.
There was immense pressure from peers and relatives, many of whom were more confident than I was about my clearing the NEET examination. However, I was devastated when the exam was cancelled due to a suspected paper leak. Everything is now back to square one, and all of us have to begin again from scratch. The paper this year was not very difficult and, considering my preparation, it felt achievable.
The merit was expected to go very high, but now, although the cutoff may drop considerably, qualifying will still remain a tough challenge. Out of the 2.2 million aspirants, the emotions are largely the same among genuine students who sacrificed sleep, personal lives, and mental peace, only to now feel emotionally shattered at the prospect of reopening the same books and preparing all over again.
In addition, many families exhausted their savings or even sold assets to afford expensive coaching. Extended delays now mean additional and often unaffordable financial strain. The altered academic calendar and delayed selection process also raise concerns about losing a crucial academic year, delayed counselling, and compressed MBBS semesters once admissions finally begin.
Need For Systemic Change
What I, along with a majority of aspirants, suggest is that the NTA should adopt a JEE-like Computer-Based Test (CBT) format for NEET. I have never heard of such irregularities or paper leaks in JEE examinations, and it remains one of the most foolproof examinations conducted by the same agency.
What is the point of frisking students like criminals and forcing them to remove items such as kalawa, nose rings, and other personal belongings when the authorities cannot even prevent papers from leaking?
Strict action should also be taken against coaching centres and all those involved in this crime. The NTA must constitute vigilance and surveillance teams to monitor institutes that make extraordinary promises of guaranteed selections and distribute guess papers bearing glaring similarities to the actual examination papers.
There also appears to be little fear of the law among those involved in such crimes because of loopholes and the sluggish judicial and punitive system in our country, which, in a way, encourages offenders to repeatedly engage in such activities and walk away freely.
There are numerous examples of the same accused being involved in multiple paper leak cases — they are caught, sent to jail, granted bail, and eventually return to the same illegal business. Our judicial system needs stricter laws and harsher penalties for such crimes so that they create a genuine sense of fear among offenders and restore faith in justice among victims. Simultaneously, the NTA must also undertake internal reforms and cleansing to make its structure more transparent, accountable, and efficient.
As told to Rajat Rai
