‘Poor scrutiny of invigilators, unsafe internet link’: Amid NEET-UG row, panel flags gaps in exams

According to sources, following the recent controversies over exams including the NEET-UG, Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba and Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla held several meetings with Central agencies to discuss remedial measures.

“At one of the meetings, it was decided to constitute a committee, comprising officials of the National Forensic Sciences University, NTA and cyber units, to identify the shortcomings, so that a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) can be issued for proper and safe conduct of national-level examinations,” sources told The Indian Express.

After the committee was set up in the last week of June, it sent teams to visit some of the centres of two exams held subsequently — the Foreign Medical Graduate Exam (FMGE) on July 6, and the National Common Entrance Test (NCET) on July 10.

According to sources, multiple teams visited “10-15” centres across “two-three states” during the FMGE, which is conducted by the National Board of Examinations under the Health Ministry. These teams reported that private labs to which the exam had been outsourced were not using “safe” internet connections, with personal hotspots being used to download questions papers in some cases.

“There are no checks-and-balances regarding invigilators — in some centres, the same invigilators had been coming for the last five to seven years; in other centres, the invigilators were just 21-22 years old. Moreover, there were no proper security arrangements at the centres. Some exam centres were found to be compromised in terms of security and situated in secluded areas,” sources said.

Sources said multiple teams also visited several exam centres during the NCET, conducted by the NTA under the Education Ministry for admission to the integrated teacher education programme. Besides the other issues, these teams also reported gaps in the procedure to identify candidates.

“The committee members have started preparing their report and are likely to submit a preliminary report to the Centre in the coming days,” said sources.