India’s premier exams for admission into the top engineering and medical colleges of the country — JEE and NEET — frequently create news waves because of their difficulty level. This time, however, it is the coronavirus pandemic. Ever since the Narendra Modi government announced its plans to conduct the exams in September, a chorus of criticism has risen. Most of these — by various political parties and sections of liberal intelligentsia — are unwarranted, and are trying to mask various interests under the false pretence of students’ grievance.
Many of those speaking out have no locus standi to comment on the matter, having never appeared for either of these exams themselves. There are mainly three kinds of arguments that have been made against the present scheduling of these exams, and India’s engineering and medical ecosystem at large, and all three arguments need to be dissected and dismantled.
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‘Students don’t want this’
This is the first argument, which ignores the reality that no candidate who has seriously prepared for the exam will ever want it to get postponed. Competition to IITs/NITs is statistically quite difficult and, all factors included, only less than 5 per cent make the cut. I say this as someone who prepared for engineering entrance exams in Kota almost a decade ago, has friends from all of India’s top engineering colleges, and studied at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Allahabad.
What I see is that a few students who are neither serious about these exams, nor are part of the club of those youngsters who might be pro-Modi/BJP, have hijacked the agenda and other political parties seem to have mistakenly given in. In fact, I’ll venture to say that some parties might be behind all this. Now before it seems that I’m putting across the viewpoint of a privileged person with no understanding of the struggles of non-affluent engineering aspirants, let me state that I do understand. Not only did I meet many such young aspirants in Kota, a very high percentage of my class at NIT hailed from lower-income backgrounds.
One of my closest friends from the institute belonged to a family whose cumulative annual income was less than Rs 1 lakh. This classmate of mine cycled 16 km every day to reach the coaching centre and then return home in Kanpur. During the long journey, he would think of solutions to difficult problems from his coursework. Another friend of mine lost his father at the age of five, and was raised by his grandfather who earned just a post office clerk’s pension. I have countless other stories. So, when I say that serious aspirants, whether affluent or not, will never want to get the exam postponed, I say it based on multiple interactions from cross-sections of society.
To those alien to the world of engineering and who have only heard of IITs, and not NITs, an analogy might explain a few things. IITs are like the three Khans of Bollywood — they enjoy world fame and are rightfully considered the torch bearers of their field. NITs are more like the likes of Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn who are bankable stars in their own right, but are considered inferior in terms of their brand value, ‘quality’ and fame. As an aside, think of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS Pilani) as Hrithik Roshan — a more stylish and equally good version of these stars/institutes, and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) as the evergreen Amitabh Bachchan.
Preparation for the entrance exams is generally completed every year by the end of March. Thus, the argument that those with no access to online coaching classes couldn’t prepare, or were left disheartened due to the dates not getting postponed to October, doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. If the preparation has been disrupted, it’s of those students who hope to appear for the exams next year, in 2021. These exams are also conducted at a massive scale, like Indian elections, and thus, even candidates from smaller towns are likely to find a centre in a city within a 100-120 km radius.
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The political angle
Like any healthy democracy, India has a culture of protest. While this is helpful on many occasions, sometimes it also leads to a politicisation of issues crucial to national interest. And this politicisation of JEE and NEET is simply unwarranted. In the absence of any cohesive governance agenda, India’s opposition parties are merely grasping at straws. Many anti-Modi commentators, too, have joined the bandwagon under a false impression. However, it only takes three to four people to start a protest in a population of 100, and is never representative of the larger sentiment.
New Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh protest saw many protesters, including many young Hindus, but did it really affect Prime Minister Narendra Modi? The chaos around the NEET-JEE exams is unlikely to affect him either. Let me also clarify that neither am I a fan of the government, nor of Modi. I am merely amused and concerned by this liberal harakiri.
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No need to change the existing pattern
In the current debate around the exams, some have recommended an entire overhaul of the present competitive exam system, falsely suggesting that it promotes rote-learning. However, nothing can be further from the truth. Contrary to popular perception, top engineering entrance exams are never about rote learning. They are invariably about application of fundamental concepts, and don’t require any significant cramming of formulas.
The present examination system is also way more egalitarian than any of the suggested alternatives. Any attempt to make admissions more holistic and profile-centric will invariably favour those who come from big cities and affluent backgrounds. An ability to excel in Mathematics is somewhat innate; fluency in the English language, or having a great extracurriculars record is more a function of privilege.
As an avowed liberal, I make a request to my fellow liberals. Let’s not destroy one of those rare systems of upward-mobility, which works well in India for petty political and personal reasons.
The author is a former journalist. He holds a Bachelor’s in Computer Science and Engineering from National Institute of Technology, Allahabad, a Master’s in International Relations from O.P. Jindal Global University, and was a Young India Fellow at Ashoka University. Views are personal.