Generally, students aspire to become doctors or engineers after completing their schooling. After higher education, they dream of passing the IAS or other government service exams to advance in their life. While it’s true that not everyone can crack these exams, with an honesty system, many capable students can succeed.
Recently, cases of question paper leaks in the National Medical Entrance Examination (NEET) have come to light. In such a situation, some voices have emerged calling for the NEET system to be abandoned. Interestingly, this demand is coming not from the candidates but from certain politicians. This raises the question: if the NEET system is abolished, what will replace it? It’s also crucial to consider how medical entrance examinations were conducted before NEET was implemented, along with their merits and demerits. Why was there a need for NEET in the first place? If the old system is reinstated, what impact will that have on candidates seeking admission to medical colleges?
As the admission process based on NEET—both for undergraduate and postgraduate medical programmes—continues smoothly, it’s the time to think about the significance of NEET with a cool mind.
Not only medical entrance exams but also national exams like UPSC are facing issues with question paper leaks. Such incidents have been sporadic since the inception of entrance exams. Therefore, it is important to consider how appropriate it is to disrupt the NEET system based on a few incidents of paper leaks.
Also read: NEET fiasco isn’t just about broken dreams. It’s pushing lakhs of families into poverty
History of medical entrance exams in India
Before NEET was introduced, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducted entrance exams at the national level, reserving at least 15 percent of seats for students who passed this exam for admission to MBBS and BDS programmes across various medical and dental colleges run by the central and state governments.
It’s true that students have been shocked by paper leaks in the NEET and UPSC exams due to dishonest elements. But the government has taken cognisance of this and responded by cancelling the exams and conducting re-examinations at the centres where leaks occurred. It must also be understood that there are two methods—or a combination of both—for selecting the right candidates: entrance exams and interviews. For selecting candidates in educational institutions, written examinations have been the right method, and have been adopted in government institutions, whether for national or provincial exams, for a long time.
But the admission process in private colleges and universities has always been a matter of controversy. It is worth noting that before the NEET system, private medical and dental colleges conducted their own MBBS/BDS and postgraduate entrance exams. Admissions through these exams were often not merit-based but rather influenced by under-the-table payments to the colleges. Many agents were involved in this ‘business’, which ensured only a wealthy student could secure admission in MBBS/BDS and postgraduate courses, leaving out children of ordinary and middle-class parents.
Although there were some exceptions, such as Karnataka, where medical colleges or their associations conducted entrance exams honestly, the general trend used to be a big reason for inequality in medical admissions. Not only this, candidates seeking admission to medical colleges also had to deposit a huge examination fee to even participate in the examination, mostly marred by corruption, conducted by various colleges or their associations. There was also a lot of malpractice in the regulation of private medical colleges.
In 2012, the central government decided to conduct a common exam to eliminate the various provincial and college-specific exams. The management of private colleges contested this decision in court. Unfortunately, the court ruled in favour of the private college managements and cancelled the common exam, calling it a violation of their rights.
Also read: NEET is too high-risk for pen-and-paper tests. It needs a fraud-proof online process
New system
After Narendra Modi assumed power, the Indian Medical Council and the Dental Council of India petitioned the Supreme Court to reconsider its 2013 decision. A five-judge bench subsequently overturned the earlier two-judge bench’s 2013 decision, declaring the NEET exam constitutional.
With the implementation of the NEET exam, admission to MBBS programmes are now based on merit, not only in government colleges but also in private institutions. This change allows even students with poor financial backgrounds to gain access to medical and dental education. This democratic process of admission to medical colleges promotes equality. While tuition fees in private medical colleges continue to remain high compared to government colleges, the absence of unfair money exchanging hands at least allows families with fewer resources to secure admissions for their children.
Since the introduction of NEET, the source of corrupt earnings has been plugged. However, following the recent paper leak incident, some political parties have started demanding the abolition of the NEET exam.
It should not be forgotten that a large number of medical and dental colleges across the country are run by politicians. Consequently, the managers of private medical colleges would invariably wish for the NEET exam to be abolished and for a return to the same old pattern where they could earn huge amounts of money by conducting entrance exams in an arbitrary manner.
Abolishing the NEET exam due to a few incidents of paper leakage, influenced by vested interests, would push us back into the same dark age where medical admissions were in the clutches of corruption.
Ashwani Mahajan is a professor at PGDAV College, University of Delhi. He tweets @ashwani_mahajan. Views are personal.
(Edited by Prashant)