No way to hold an exam!

What happened when NEET, the common medical entrance exam, was held in Kerala was not so much overzealousness by invigilators as sheer mindlessness. What was the teacher thinking when she asked the girl to remove her bra? Anti-cheating rules are framed to ensure there is a level playing field for all in an exam crucial to the career of anyone aspiring to qualify for medicine or dentistry. What took place was beyond the pedantic — the way they were asked to change clothes or long sleeves were cut and anything metallic was suspected to be a Bluetooth-capable device. Imagine the plight of youngsters being treated like criminals on the eve of a vital exam!

The NEET exam itself raised several issues — held in multiple languages, with question papers based on different syllabuses. What the CBSE, with its vast experience in holding exams, should do is to lay out the rules in clearer terms in future so that the intrusive and disruptive elements are taken out of the process even as it strives to ensure the test is secure.

It’s no mean task to present the right atmosphere for 11 lakh students in close to 2,000 centres across India. Given that sophisticated gadgets like jammers are accessible to those holding the exam, it is a fair expectation that the job be done without causing embarrassment to students.

The IITs run the common entrance test for aspiring engineers at two levels without causing heartaches. The CBSE must build a model for NEET on similar lines.