Vidya Bharti advocates for changing current competitive exam pattern to prevent paper leaks, ET Education

New Delhi, Amid the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, RSS-affiliated Vidya Bharti on Thursday sought changes in the current ‘pattern’ of competitive exams to prevent recurrence of such incidents and also end the dependence of candidates on coaching institutes. Responding to questions at a press conference here, Vidya Bharti Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha, convener of Sansthan D Ramakrishna Rao expressed ‘concern’ over the alleged NEET-UG paper leak and said the current examination system should be changed to assess ‘competence, aptitude, attitude and IQ’ and not just the memory of candidates appearing for various competitive exams. “There should be reforms in the conduct of such exams. Our examination pattern should be completely overhauled on the lines of institutions like the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The IIT examination system is foolproof,” he told reporters.

The National Eligibility and Admission Test for Postgraduate Studies (NEET-UG) is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to medical, dental, ayurvedic and other related courses in government and private institutions.

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Rao also suggested changes in the evaluation methods and proposed to introduce an open examination system for competitive exams to test the “competence, ability, attitude and IQ” of candidates.

“Candidates may be provided with question banks, e.g. 2,000 questions, in advance, which will help them understand the scope of the exam and prepare well for it on their own,” he said.

He added that if changes are made in the current exam pattern adopted by NTA, there will be no cases of document leakage or students becoming dependent on tutoring institutes.

Rao was addressing the annual press conference of Vidya Bharti Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Sansthan to highlight the organisation’s contribution to education and the achievements of over 12,000 schools run by it in different parts of the country.

A total of 67 students scored 720 marks in NEET-UG 2024, an unprecedented performance in the history of NTA, and six from the Haryana centre figured in the list, raising suspicions of irregularities. It is alleged that Grace Marks helped ensure that 67 students got the top rank.

Later, after the NTA announced the revised results on July 1, the number of candidates in first place dropped to 61.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is currently investigating alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG 2024 exam.

Asked if Vidya Bharti is also working in violence-hit Manipur, Rao said his organisation has taken steps to provide free education to students living in various relief camps and also runs 250 hostels for students. “We have started a ‘School on Wheels’ initiative to cater to the educational needs of students there (Manipur).”

He added that Vidya Bharti is also providing education to students from Manipur by transferring them to its schools operating in other states.

“Our volunteers and teachers are trying their best to meet the needs of the students (in Manipur). They are working in difficult conditions. The situation there is quite delicate. It will take some time for things to get back to normal. But we will continue our efforts,” he said.

Responding to queries from reporters, Rao said the central government has approved Vidya Bharti’s proposal to run eight Sainik schools in various states, including Madhya Pradesh and Bihar, while the proposal to set up two more Sainik schools is “under consideration”.

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