Panel after leak: Send test paper digitally, answers on OMR sheet

The committee was tasked with suggesting reforms to fortify information information protocols, amended the introspection process, and reappraisal the structure and operations of the NTA. It submitted its study to the Education Ministry recently.

The Indian Express has learned that the committee has not constricted its recommendations to reforms for NEET but has projected semipermanent measures to unafraid each entranceway tests conducted by the Centre.

Broadly, it is understood that the sheet has advocated for greater authorities power implicit exam administration. This would see expanding the fig of its ain introspection centres alternatively of outsourcing the behaviour of exams to work providers and employing much imperishable unit for the NTA which relies heavy connected contractual personnel.

Currently, examinations conducted by the NTA are typically held successful government-run schools and colleges. When these venues are insufficient, the bureau enlists AICTE-recognised institutes and colleges.

If that inactive falls short, work providers — agencies that assistance with the online behaviour of the exams — besides bring successful different backstage centres. It is learned that the usage of these backstage centres has been discouraged by the panel.

Further, portion the sheet has advocated for conducting entranceway tests online arsenic overmuch arsenic possible, it has suggested a hybrid mode for cases wherever this is not feasible.

In the hybrid mode, the question insubstantial volition beryllium transmitted digitally to the exam centre but candidates volition people their answers connected an OMR sheet. “This volition importantly trim the fig of hands that the question insubstantial passes through,” said a source.

This proposition is important fixed that the NEET-UG insubstantial leak allegedly occurred erstwhile the question paper, aft reaching an exam centre successful Hazaribagh, Jharkhand, was accessed illegally and allegedly handed implicit to individuals who solved it.

Transmitting the insubstantial digitally enables the exam-conducting bureau to merchandise the questions overmuch person to the introspection commencement time, enhancing information and eliminating the request for the insubstantial to spell archetypal to a printing press, past beryllium stored successful a slope beardown room, and yet beryllium handed implicit to the exam centre.

On CUET, the committee has suggested limiting the prime of subjects for candidates. At present, the NTA, which conducts CUET connected behalf of the University Grants Commission, offers implicit 50 subjects, allowing candidates to instrumentality tests successful up to six of them.

The Radhakrishnan sheet is said to person argued against the logic down truthful galore tests. “Why should a subject student, who has already appeared for Board exams, person to beryllium for different trial successful the aforesaid subjects? The relation of subjects should chiefly beryllium to find eligibility, portion CUET should measure wide aptitude and immoderate taxable cognition to hole a merit database for assemblage admissions. Why should students instrumentality up to six papers if they person already completed their committee exams?” said a source.

Moreover, having truthful galore subjects means creating aggregate sets of question papers, which, successful turn, increases the fig of radical progressive — a origin “we should ideally minimise to support information and confidentiality,” the root added.

The Radhakrishnan sheet is besides reported to person recommended that NEET-UG beryllium conducted successful aggregate stages, preferably two, akin to the Joint Entrance Exam, which includes JEE Main and JEE Advanced, owed to the ample fig of aspirants. Nearly 20 lakh aesculapian aspirants person registered for NEET-UG this year. Additionally, the sheet suggested capping the fig of attempts for NEET-UG, arsenic currently, candidates tin instrumentality the exam arsenic galore times arsenic they wish.

With Radhakrishnan, the adept committee includes erstwhile AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria; Hyderabad Central University Vice-Chancellor B J Rao; Professor Emeritus successful the Department of Civil Engineering astatine IIT Madras, Ramamurthy K; Karmayogi Bharat Board Member, Pankaj Bansal; IIT Delhi Professor Aditya Mittal; and Joint Secretary successful the Education Ministry Govind Jaiswal.