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Following the NEET paper leak earlier this year, the Centre announced that the medical entrance examination would be conducted in CBT mode from next year.
NEET scores are also used for admission to undergraduate courses in Dentistry, Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha. (File Photo)
The Ministry of Education is working on a national, examination-grade Computer-Based Testing (CBT) infrastructure strategy to facilitate the transition of NEET from its existing pen-and-paper format to online mode, officials said.
Following the NEET paper leak earlier this year, the Centre announced that the medical entrance examination would be conducted in CBT mode from next year. Officials aware of the development said that while the proposal is under active consideration, a final decision will be taken only after the report of the Nandan Nilekani-led task force constituted to overhaul India’s public examination system is received.
NEET has so far been conducted in pen-and-paper mode, while the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts several other examinations, including JEE-Main, CUET-UG, CUET-PG, UGC-NET and CSIR-UGC NET, in computer-based mode. Once the proposed infrastructure strategy is in place, the government plans to shift all entrance examinations online.
“A national examination-grade Computer-Based Testing infrastructure strategy is being formulated to close the geographic gap in test-centre availability, standardise centre-level examination-grade specifications and to permit the migration to CBT from the pen-and-paper mode examinations. The strategy is under active consideration based on a multi-model sourcing architecture,” a senior Ministry of Education official told PTI on condition of anonymity.
The proposed strategy comes amid the ongoing overhaul of the NTA, the nodal autonomous body responsible for conducting NEET-UG and other entrance examinations for higher educational institutions.
“The possible migration of NEET (UG) from the pen-and-paper mode to CBT, including the design of the transition, the sequencing, the infrastructure prerequisites, and the equity implications for rural, women and low-connectivity-district candidates, is being worked upon.
“However, the recommendations of the High-Level Task Force on exam reforms in structured consultation and concurrence of the Health Ministry and National Medical Commission, are awaited,” the official said.
The leak of the NEET-UG question paper earlier this year triggered nationwide student protests and was followed by the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
A day after Pradhan’s resignation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the formation of a high-powered task force headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to recommend reforms aimed at making the examination system more secure and preventing paper leaks. The panel is yet to submit its report.
NEET-UG is the country’s largest undergraduate entrance examination, with nearly 25 lakh candidates appearing for the test each year.
The NTA conducts NEET annually for admission to medical colleges. A total of 1,08,000 MBBS seats are available, of which approximately 56,000 are in government institutions and around 52,000 in private colleges.
NEET scores are also used for admission to undergraduate courses in Dentistry, Ayurveda, Unani and Siddha.
The proposal to conduct NEET in CBT mode is not new and has been discussed several times in the past. However, the recent push for examination reforms has gained momentum following the paper leak controversy.
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Ask News18The transition to a Computer-Based Testing (CBT) infrastructure strategy follows the NEET paper leak earlier this year. The Centre aims to make the medical entrance examination more secure, transparent, and efficient, while preventing paper leaks and closing geographic gaps in test-centre availability.
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