New Delhi | No normalisation of marks, proper communication in case of schedule changes and infrastructure checks at exam centres are among thousands of suggestions the Centre's high-level exam reform panel has received in response to its call for recommendations.
Tasked with reviewing the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA), the panel headed by former ISRO chief R Radhakrishnan has received over 37,000 suggestions from stakeholders, including students, parents, coaching institutions, school teachers, academic institutions and even career counsellors.
According to sources, a majority of the suggestions came from students.
The panel has been tasked with recommending reforms in the examination process, enhancing data security protocols and reviewing the structure and operations of the NTA. It has two months to file its report.
"Some aspirants have suggested laying down of clear norms in case of any lapse. Like the grace marks issue, aspirants want to know what will happen in a given scenario, what the options will be and what formula will be used. There are also complaints about some centres being too far off and not having the required infrastructure," a source said.
"There are concerns about the normalisation process too. Some aspirants have suggested against it, some have asked for transparency in the process so that scores are neither inflated nor drastically reduced," the source added.
The panel had invited suggestions, views and ideas from stakeholders, particularly students and parents, between June 27 and July 7 through the MyGov platform.
In the line of fire over alleged irregularities in the medical entrance examination NEET and PhD entrance NET, the Centre last month set up the panel to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through the NTA.
While NEET is under the scanner for several irregularities, including alleged leaks, UGC-NET was cancelled as the ministry received inputs that the integrity of the exam had been compromised. Both matters are being probed by the CBI.
Two other exams – CSIR-UGC NET and NEET PG – were cancelled at the last moment as a pre-emptive step.
The panel includes former AIIMS Delhi director Randeep Guleria, Central University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor B J Rao, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Madras K Ramamurthy, People Strong co-founder and Karmayogi Bharat board member Pankaj Bansal, IIT Delhi Dean of Student Affairs Aditya Mittal and MoE Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal.
It has also been tasked with examining the existing security protocols related to the setting of question papers and other processes for different examinations and making recommendations to enhance the robustness of the system.
The Coaching Federation of India, an umbrella body of coaching institutions across the country, has also made a slew of suggestions. These include minimising the outsourcing of exam-related tasks by the NTA, setting up an education task force and a helpline to report irregularities, and conducting competitive exams at least twice a year.
