Pen'n'paper just won't pass

By now, we're all familiar with the fiasco that's been the 2024 National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) UG - inflated scores and ranks, chaos in question paper distribution, alleged leak of question paper. UGC-National Eligibility Test (NET) 2024 also saw question papers being leaked. This chain of errors can be attributed to the pen'n' paper (PnP) exam format.

What is surprising is that NET was conducted as a computer-based test (CBT) for many years, with minor glitches. Why such critical exams were conducted in PnP this year is a question worth asking.

Problems with PnP
PnP introduces several logistical concerns including transportation of question papers, strongroom storage, transportation of used optical mark recognition (OMR) answer sheets back to exam authority headquarters, and keeping record of unused OMR sheets and question paper booklets. Inappropriate handling of any of these may have introduced paper leakage, compromising the sanctity of the exams. Possibility of unauthorised access to the printed papers is a critical concern.

CBT as default
CBT has emerged as a practical alternative worldwide to counter such logistical and security challenges. Since its establishment in 2017, National Testing Agency (NTA), the autonomous agency for admissions and fellowship exams to higher educational institutions (HEIs) in India, has been conducting tests in almost all education domains, and has specialised in CBT.

NTA conducted Joint Entrance Exams (Main) 2024 in two sessions - January and April - totalling over 1.4 mn distinct students via 500-plus exam centres across more than 300 cities in India and abroad. Paper 1 for BTech/ BE admissions in 13 languages was fully CBT, spread over 10 shifts in 5 days.

The mega operations were conducted almost free of online glitches, although there were some past issues concerning impersonation due to ambiguities in Aadhaar-based authentication. Learnings from past incidents stabilised the operations significantly. The CBT result was announced in a record 15 days. Similarly, NTA has historically conducted UGC-NET in CBT mode.

NET is an eligibility test for junior research fellowship (JRF) and appointment as assistant professor. UGC-NET is more diversified, conducted in many subjects. Other than one-off cases of online glitches, there was never any major issue.

From 2024, NET will also be applicable for admission to PhD research. So, the number of candidates in UGC-NET 2024 was much higher, with about 0.9 mn candidates. NTA also conducts Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)-NET in CBT mode. Thus, NTA has a proven track record for conducting CBT tests for a few million candidates.

Transparency
CBT can easily be scaled to a much larger number of candidates, say, to the size of NEET 2024, by spreading it over a few more days and increasing the capacity of the online system. In CBT mode, NTA has been following the best models of transparency. Question papers with respective answer keys were displayed. The final answer keys were published after subject expert verification. Recorded OMR sheets were displayed for self-evaluation and verification of a candidate's score with the official score. NTA also voluntarily disclosed the most relevant information through its press releases.

These SOPs were developed through a decade-long (2006-15) legal battle in the Supreme Court and high courts to ensure transparency for admissions to IITs. Stakes in NEET are astonishingly high, making it vulnerable to irregularities, accidental or intentional. Quality of education and college fees are critical factors that vary widely. NET, too, is a high-stakes exam for the appointment of assistant professors in thousands of colleges, institutes and universities. Hence, it's vital that the most professional exam format be adopted.

So why did NET revert to PnP? It's puzzling why despite the progress made in CBT as the primary format, UGC announced NET 2024 to be conducted in PnP. And why hasn't NEET adopted CBT yet? Did National Medical Commission (NMC) or National Board of Examinations (NBE) advise against it? It's a fact that many irregularities seen in NEET 2024 would have been avoided with CBT.

Coaching conspiracy?
Due to the NEET fiasco, the medical coaching and counselling (C&C) industry's brand value has increased considerably. A retest will again benefit C&C and create confusion, stress, time loss and academic session delay for aspirants. The ultimate sufferers are millions of NEET and NET aspirants.

Start the SOPs
NTA should work to adapt and improve CBTs, while also using well-defined, secure SOPs to ensure integrity at every stage. Security protocols should be upgraded with fast-changing cybersecurity technology. NTA should follow a professional war-room culture to facilitate quick and sound decision-making during the entire examination process.

Work-outsourcing should be categorised, based on the criticality and confidentiality of the operations, and handled with appropriately defined SOPs. While this primarily focuses on the logistics of exams, several technical issues remain unaddressed, such as score distribution, score normalisation, question complexity distribution, and other factors crucial for merit-based effective ranking.

India's exam system doesn't need to reinvent the wheel. It needs to stick to tried-and-tested formats like CBT, and have SOPs not just set in place but strictly observed. In other words, it needs to get professional and professionalised.

The writer is former professor of computer science, IIT Kharagpur