Guwahati: Expressing dismay over the debates on irregularities in the nationwide entrance examinations for aspiring medical students, a forum of nationalist citizens based in Northeast India demanded a fair probe into the episode. They insisted that the evaluation process should be foolproof and quality-driven so that only meritorious and dedicated students get the opportunity to pursue MBBS, BDS, BVSc, and other courses. The Patriotic People’s Front Assam (PPFA) argued that those found responsible for playing with the dreams of aspiring students must be punished under the law.
It is noteworthy that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) caught media headlines for the wrong reasons, as some students topped the list of qualified candidates with grace marks, scoring 720 out of 720. The NEET results, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), were declared on 4 June, while the nation was busy observing the outcome of the General Elections 2024. The results came 10 days earlier than initially announced by the nodal agency. Moreover, some students received strange marks, which is otherwise impossible with the current calculation system of 4 marks for each correct answer and -1 for every incorrect response in the 200-minute test.
The NEET process is alleged to empower some coaching centers, which focus primarily on question-answer-based discussions without covering the regular syllabus. These centers exploit desperate parents by promising high scores for admission into prestigious institutions such as All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research, IMS-BHU, KMC (Manipal & Mangalore), CMC Vellore, and government medical colleges. Previously, the process was completed by the All India Pre Medical Test along with other entrance tests conducted by State governments and different medical colleges.
A large number of participants took to the streets, and the matter has now reached the apex court, where the NTA admitted to offering grace marks to 1,563 students this year. However, the agency, established by the Union government in 2017 with the mandate to conduct entrance and recruitment examinations, neither disclosed the provision of extra marks in the examination brochures nor divulged the criteria for the same. Described as a ‘premier, specialist, autonomous, and self-sustained testing organization,’ the NTA has not clarified if it practiced the grace mark system in NEET-UG 2023 or any other tests.
“The evaluation system (multiple choice questions) to qualify a student for medical courses needs to be reformed, as it has lately been used by a section of coaching centers to promote their ‘products’ and cleverly satisfy rich and over-ambitious parents. Now the question arises: how has NEET become so important for selecting budding doctors without assessing their general attitude, a much-needed quality for a practicing physician? After completing their courses, will we get doctors who passed all exams with high marks but failed to acquire the necessary qualities to serve patients?” stated the PPFA.
(Nava Thakuria is a senior Indian journalist who contributes to various media outlets including print and digital platforms of India and across the world.)
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