Editorial: Breach of trust

The Centre must take up urgent overhaul to restore public trust in the examination system

The cancellation of the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) examination just a day after it was conducted comes as a major embarrassment for the Centre and a betrayal of faith reposed by lakhs of candidates across the country. The sudden decision was attributed to the intelligence reports that the examination, for the appointment of assistant professors, junior research fellowships and admission to PhD in universities, may have been compromised. Allegations of paper leakage marred the test for which over 11 lakh candidates had registered. The Education Ministry has informed that the decision was taken based on the inputs from the National Cyber Crime Threat Analytics Unit of the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). The unsavoury development has exposed the loopholes in the conduct of a prestigious national-level test that decides the fate of hundreds of thousands of candidates. The cancellation of the exam comes amid another raging controversy over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET-UG), a nationwide entrance examination conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to undergraduate medical programmes. The NEET-UG test this year was marked by allegations of paper leak, malpractice, manipulation of examination centres and discrepancies in declaration of results. And, at least 13 people have been arrested so far in connection with the alleged irregularities during the exam on May 5 in Patna. One of the arrested persons had even confessed to receiving a leaked question paper.

After the twin botch-ups in quick succession, the NTA finds itself caught in a worsening crisis of credibility. The Central Bureau of Investigation has been tasked with conducting the probe. This reflects the seriousness being attached to the matter but the damage has already been done. After this, a sense of betrayal in the public consciousness is inevitable. The NTA has been holding the UGC-NET examination in a computer-based format since 2018. It went back to the pen-and-paper version this year. The central government has spoken about setting up a high-level committee to recommend an overhaul of the examination processes. It must pull up its socks and take up an urgent overhaul to restore public trust in the examination system. Domain experts, educationists and all other stakeholders must be consulted instead of resorting to unilateral imposition of new guidelines. Conducted twice a year, the UGC-NET is the first such examination to be scrapped after the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act was passed in February. This law provides for three to five years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh for resorting to unfair means. The education system is the bedrock of our society, shaping the future of millions. The repeated breaches in the examination process are not just administrative failures but also a betrayal of the trust that students place in the system. The youth deserve a fair chance to prove their merit without the shadow of corruption.

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