Vidya Bharti pitches for change in current pattern of competitive exams to prevent paper leaks

New Delhi: Amid the backdrop of the NEET-UG paper leak row, the RSS-linked Vidya Bharti on Thursday pitched for changes in the current "pattern" of competitive examinations to prevent recurrence of such incidents and also put to an end candidates' dependency on coaching institutes.

Replying to questions at a press conference here, Vidya Bharti Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Sansthan chairperson D Ramakrishna Rao expressed "concern" over the NEET-UG paper leak and said the current examination system should be changed to assess the "competence, aptitude, attitude and Intelligence Quotient", not just memory of the candidates appearing for various competitive exams.

"There should be reforms in conducting these kinds of exams. Our examination pattern should be summarily transformed along the lines of institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). The examination system of IITs is foolproof," he told reporters.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test- Undergraduate (NEET-UG) is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admissions to MBBS, BDS, AYUSH and other related courses in government and private institutions.

Rao suggested that the changes should also be brought in the evaluation methods and pitched for introduction of an open-book examination system for competitive examinations designed to test the candidates' "competence, aptitude, attitude and Intelligence Quotient".

"Candidates may be provided with question banks, say 2,000 questions, in advance to enable them to understand the scope of their exams so that they can prepare well for it on their own," he said.

If changes are brought in the current examination pattern adopted by the NTA, there would be no incident of paper leak and dependency of students on coaching institutes, he said.

A total of 67 students scored a perfect 720 in NEET-UG, 2024, unprecedented in the NTA's history, with six from a Haryana centre figuring in the list, raising suspicions about irregularities. It has been alleged that grace marks contributed to 67 students sharing the top rank.

Later, the number of candidates sharing the top rank fell to 61 after the NTA announced the revised results on July 1.

The Central Bureau of Investigation is currently conducting a probe into the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG, 2024.