“NEET examinations conducted separately for Under Graduate and Post Graduate courses have finally a direct bearing on the delivery of health services in the country.”
A huge public outrage against the paper leak controversies resulting in cancellation of UGC’s NET (National Eligibility Test) examination, deferment of NEET-PG examination and finally replacement of National Testing Agency (NTA) Chief Subodh Kumar Singh by Pradeep Singh Karola shows the failure of All India examination system designed and implemented by National Testing Agency (NTA) for several prestigious competitive examinations having a direct bearing on the careers of lacs of students across the country. While the UGC’s NET examination has a direct bearing on the quality of teaching in universities and colleges across the country, the NEET examinations conducted separately for Under Graduate and Post Graduate courses have finally a direct bearing on the delivery of health services in the country. While the replacement of National Testing Agency (NTA) Chief Subodh Kumar Singh by Pradeep Singh Karola gives lakhs of the candidates of the just deferred NEET-PG examination and recently cancelled UGC’s NET examination a satisfaction that NTA will conduct their examinations afresh now under a new chief , the lakhs of the candidates of NEET –UG examination are still finding themselves in a state of frustration in the backdrop of the rejection of their demand for cancellation of their examination whose results were recently declared amid charges of paper leak and other irregularities. While the cancellation of UGC’s NET examination and deferment of NEET –PG examination before the removal of NTA Chief has given huge satisfaction to lakhs of candidates, the lakhs of candidates of NEET-UG examination are frustrated by the rejection of their demand for cancellation of the examination whose results have been declared amid paper leak row and the recent go ahead for counseling also by the top court of the country.
While the decentralization of the All India Examination System demands and deserves a review in the backdrop of present countrywide outrage against NTA over the paper leak allegations, the demand for cancellation of NEET-UG examination also necessities an immediate and urgent action from the Central Government to reduce the sense of discrimination the lakhs of NEET-UG candidates are getting in the backdrop of cancellation of UGC’s NET examination and deferment of NEET-PG examination. Cancelling one examination and rejecting a similar action another one conducted by one single examination body is obviously a matter of discrimination which needs immediate action for restoration of faith in the working of the said All India examination system .
Obviously the lakhs of NEET-UG examination are getting a sense of discrimination amid an unprecedented rise in their frustration. Interestingly recently K Sujhata Rao former Union Health Secretary has in an article over NEET examinations published on the opinion pages of a leading national English Daily “Indian Express” said that Central Government needs to decentralise the All India Examination system to reduce the possibility of paper leaks in a national examinations conducted for admission to UG and PG courses in Medical Colleges across the Country. Sujhata Rao’s advice surely deserves an urgent attention from the Central Government as restoration of powers to states and union territories to hold themselves entrance examinations for UG and PG Courses of medical sciences would necessitate reexamination only in the state or the union territory where the papers would be leaked for one or other bad reason. While the decentralization of the All India Examination System demands and deserves a review in the backdrop of present countrywide outrage against NTA over the paper leak allegations, the demand for cancellation of NEET-UG examination also necessities an immediate and urgent action from the Central Government to reduce the sense of discrimination the lakhs of NEET-UG candidates are getting in the backdrop of cancellation of UGC’s NET examination and deferment of NEET-PG examination. Cancelling one examination and rejecting a similar action another one conducted by one single examination body is obviously a matter of discrimination which needs immediate action for restoration of faith in the working of the said All India examination system .
