Is NEET Exam Conducted Online: Big questions are being raised about the NTA and the central government, which conducted the exam, due to the leak of neet paper. The students are demanding a re-examination and on the other hand, the CBI is taking action against the accused who leaked the paper. Some senior government officials said that the central government is planning to conduct neet exam online from next year and may remove the medium of pen-paper exam, which will reduce the chances of paper leak.
The CBI is currently investigating the NEET paper leak case and has so far arrested a few accused in the case. Students have been protesting against NEET and the Central government, while the matter is being heard in the court, while the ruling and opposition parties are locked in a tussle in Parliament.
The Ministry of Health had given suggestions
Currently, NEET is an annual pen-and-paper MCQ exam, in which candidates have to select their answer from the given options and mark it on an optically scanned (NEET Exam Is Online 2024) OMR sheet. Earlier too, the Health Ministry had suggested to the NTA to conduct these exams online. This medical examination is conducted by NEET UG, the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Like the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) main or JEE Advanced, computer-BRD testing is being seen as a viable option for admission to IITs and engineering colleges. The issue has reportedly been discussed in at least three high-level meetings convened in the last one week.
The central government has formed a committee
On June 22, the Centre set up a seven-member committee headed by the former Chief Justice of India. Under this, ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan has set up a committee to recommend improvements in the testing process and data security protocols and review the structure and functioning of the NTA
In 2018, the then Education Minister Prakash Javadekar had announced that NEET would be conducted online and twice a year from 2019. The Ministry of Education had to reverse the decision after the Health Ministry objected to the announcement without formal consultation. The Health Ministry’s concern about computer-BRD testing was that poor and rural students would suffer.
Who will make the final decision?
The national medical commission will have to take the final decision to switch to the online mode. The BMC also admitted that online exams are a serious option. This change has challenges because computer-BRD testing involves generalization, as there will be multiple versions of the paper.
