NEET Row: SOPs for lapses, infra checks at centres among suggestions received by Centre's exam reform panel

Lay down norms for any irregularities or lapses in the exam process, no normalisation of marks, infrastructure checks at exam centres and proper communication to candidates in case of schedule changes are among thousands of suggestions the Centre's high-level exam reform panel has received from stakeholders.

According to sources, a majority of these suggestions have come from students. "Some aspirants have suggested laying down clear norms in case of any lapses. Like the grace marks issue, aspirants want to know what will happen in a given scenario, what the options are and what formula will be used. There are also complaints about some centres being too far off and not having the required infrastructure," a source said.

"There are concerns about the normalisation process too. Some aspirants have suggested against it, some have asked for transparency in the process so scores are neither inflated nor drastically reduced," the source added.

Headed by former ISRO chief R Radhakrishnan, the committee tasked with reviewing the National Testing Agency's functioning had sought suggestions, views and ideas from stakeholders, particularly students and parents, between June 27 and July 7 through the MyGov platform.

The panel has received over 37,000 responses from students, parents, coaching institutions, school teachers, academic institutions and even career counsellors among others. It is supposed to submit its report within two months.

In the line of fire over alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination NEET and PhD entrance NET, the Centre last month set up the panel to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA).

While NEET is under the scanner over several irregularities, including alleged leaks, UGC-NET was cancelled as the ministry received inputs that the integrity of the exam had been compromised. Both matters are being probed by the CBI.

Two other exams – CSIR-UGC NET and NEET PG – were cancelled at the last moment as a pre-emptive step.

The panel also includes former AIIMS Delhi director Randeep Guleria, Central University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor B J Rao, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Madras K Ramamurthy, People Strong co-founder and Karmayogi Bharat board member Pankaj Bansal, IIT Delhi Dean of Student Affairs Aditya Mittal and MoE Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal.

The committee has also been tasked with examining the existing security protocols related to the setting of the papers and other processes for various examinations and making recommendations to enhance the robustness of the system.