Centre seeks extension for panel investigating NEET-UG 2024 mishandling

The Union government on Tuesday approached the Supreme Court with a request for additional time for the high-powered committee tasked with probing the alleged irregularities in the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2024, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). The government has sought a three-week extension until October 21, for the committee to finalise and submit its report, which was initially due by September 30, as per a prior court directive.

The Union’s application stated that the panel, which is also expected to recommend structural reforms in all national level tests, has made significant strides in its inquiry. By September 18, 2024, the committee had held 22 meetings to address the complexities involved in conducting such large-scale exams, the risks and the security measures, the plea added.

According to the application, the committee’s consultations included online inputs via the MyGov Portal, where over 37,000 responses were received from students, guardians and education experts, besides physical consultations with stakeholders, including state governments, police officials, regulatory bodies and global testing experts.

The committee has also drafted a preliminary report. “However, it has been intimated by the committee that the said draft needs more improvement to effectively communicate the essence of all the deliberations & consultations and bring out a robust roadmap for conducting future national entrance tests in a more transparent manner with zero error and under a tamper-proof architecture,” stated the plea.

The government’s plea added that the committee has written to the secretary in the department of higher education for extension of time since it believes more deliberation is necessary to develop a comprehensive roadmap for future exams, ensuring greater transparency and accuracy in the process.

“Thus, for the committee to further deliberate and frame effective, action-oriented recommendations toward making the NTA a more robust public examinations conducting body, the Committee has with utmost respect prayed for an extension of three weeks’ time (up to 21.10.2024) for the submission of the final report,” read the plea.

The plea concludes by requesting the court to modify the August 2 judgment, extending the deadline for the committee’s report submission from September 30 to October 21. The judgment was delivered by a bench led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.

The issue stems from a series of irregularities that surfaced during the NEET-UG 2024 exam, held on May 5, across 4,750 centers in 571 cities, with over 2.3 million students competing for 108,000 seats.

Earlier, the top court took NTA to task for its mishandling of the NEET-UG, emphasising that while the integrity of the exam was not entirely compromised, serious lapses by the body raised concerns about the fairness and reliability of a botched process that was further marred by allegations of paper leaks and widespread malpractice.

In a detailed judgment released on August 2—five days after the court rejected multiple petitions demanding a NEET-UG retest through a brief order-- the top court also proposed a series of structural reforms aimed at overhauling the examination process to restore public confidence and rectifying the “serious lapses” in the NTA’s administration. This included tamper-evident packaging for question papers, use of secure logistics providers, stringent identity checks, data security protocol, regular audits and surprise checks. and installation of comprehensive CCTV surveillance systems at all examination centres, among others.

To ensure that NTA adhered to these reforms, the bench expanded the remit of a committee constituted by the Centre to investigate and address the structural issues identified in the judgment. The committee, originally tasked with reviewing the conduct of the NEET-UG 2024 exam, has now been directed to include these additional reforms in its recommendations.

The seven-member committee, chaired by former Isro chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan, has been tasked with making recommendations on the stringent security protocols. Additionally, the court emphasised the need for enhanced identity verification measures to prevent impersonation and urged NTA to conduct regular audits and surprise inspections of exam centres.

“The formation of a committee is essential to thoroughly investigate and address the structural issues. A dedicated committee with suitably qualified experts can ensure a comprehensive review of the security measures, candidate verification processes, and the overall management of the examination. By identifying and rectifying vulnerabilities, such a committee will help restore trust in the examination system and implement robust safeguards to prevent future malpractice,” held the bench in the August 2 judgment.

The court granted an extension for the committee’s report until September 30 and instructed the Union education ministry to implement a plan of action based on the committee’s findings within a month of receiving the report. The ministry was also directed to report its compliance with these directions to the court, ensuring that the reforms are not only proposed but also effectively implemented.