Page 70 - EW July 2024

Special Report

Medically under-served nation cancellation of NEET and other na-
tional exams for admission into HEIs,
Doctor- population Public health expenditure most knowledgeable academics and
ratio (per 10,000) (% of GDP) monitors of Indian education favour
India 7.26 3.28 national exams for admission into
China 25.18 5.38 institutes of professional education
USA 36.08 16.57 — medicine, law, engineering — to
Germany 45.18 12.65 safeguard against wide variations in
Ukraine 29.89 8.01 assessment standards of state exam
Russia 38.27 7.39 boards. This would ensure a level
playing field for all school-leavers
Philippines 7.8 5.10 competing for much-too-few seats in
Malaysia 23.15 4.38 institutes of professional education.
Canada 24.97 11.15 Moreover, common entrance tests
France 33.42 12.31 such as NEET-UG ensure that only the
UK 31.74 11.34 brightest and best are able to derive
the full benefit of a highly-subsidised
Source: WHO (2024) state provided medical education.
While greater use of technology,
welcome. But its effectiveness will be overhauling and institutionalising
determined by speedy implementa- best assessment practices and SOPs
tion and speedy convictions. The po- (standard operating procedures) and
lice and judiciary have to exhibit speed according constitutional status to NTA
and alacrity in bringing anti-socials are undoubtedly operational solutions
accused of exam paper leaks and other to plug loopholes in the country’s pub-
malpractices to justice. Otherwise the lic exam systems, the critical require-
new Act will merely add to the long ment is to expand capacity through
list of proforma legislation,” says Dr. deregulation and liberalisation of
Brajesh Kumar Tiwari, associ- higher education since the Central
ate professor at Atal Bihari Vajpayee and most state governments run fis-
School of Management and Entrepre- cal deficits.
neurship, Jawaharlal Nehru Univer- In particular, the irrational stipula-
sity, Delhi. tion that every medical college must
M EANWHILE, THE new- Tiwari: speedy convictions call tached hospital needs to be scrapped.
necessarily have a graded capacity at-
ly-constituted K. Rad-
This stipulation sky-rockets the cost of
hakrishnan committee
measurement organisation which ad-
and in turn, drives up tuition fees.
has begun consulta- largest private educational testing and promoting medical colleges manifold,
tions with students, parents, assess- ministers more than 50 million tests There’s no rational reason why medi-
ment and cyber-security experts, in 180 countries annually. The ETS cal colleges cannot enter into bilat-
and in its first meeting held on June administered MCAT (Medical Com- eral agreements with local public and
25 reiterated that its top priority is mon Admission Test) — for admission private hospitals to provide students
to “quickly establish a robust tam- into medical schools in the US — is a interning experience.
per-proof exam system”. Informed CBT test offered 25 times per year. Yet the major infirmity of the In-
sources indicate that the NTA is likely Union education minister Dhar- dian education system is that it is
to introduce a multiple-times-a-year mendra Pradhan has hinted that severely under-funded. It’s shocking
computer-based test (CBT) format for a switch to SAT-like multiple tests that India with a population of 1.4
NEET and other national entrance ex- may happen sooner than later: “In- billion offers a mere 108,940 medi-
ams, similar to SAT (Scholastic Apti- dia needs a flexible and less stressful cal college seats per year (cf. China’s
tude Test) conducted by the US-based exam system like SAT, the admission 286,000 seats).
Educational Testing Service (ETS) for test for colleges in the US,” he said in “A common suggestion to address
admission into higher education insti- a media interview. the ongoing NEET controversy is
tutions in America. Although several state govern- to improve the functioning of NTA.
Also under consideration is “col- ments — especially Tamil Nadu’s However, merely enhancing the
laboration” with ETS — the world’s DMK government — have demanded NTA’s capabilities is unlikely to solve

70 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2024