Parliamentary Panel Investigates NEET Paper Leak and CBSE Marking System Issues
A Parliamentary Standing Committee has launched an investigation into alleged NEET exam paper leaks and CBSE's on-screen marking (OSM) system failures, summoning officials from the National Testing Agency (NTA) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for detailed written responses. The committee is examining whether paper leaks occurred, investigating irregularities in NEET-UG 2024, and scrutinizing the procurement process for the OSM contract, including changes to bidding requirements. The inquiry is significant as it represents parliamentary oversight of critical national examination systems that affect millions of students' educational futures.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, chaired by Congress Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh, is investigating serious allegations surrounding two major examination systems. The committee has asked the NTA to formally define what constitutes a "paper leak" and confirm whether any have occurred since 2018, following NTA officials' claims that circulating questions came from guess papers rather than actual leaks. Simultaneously, the panel is examining the CBSE's on-screen marking system fiasco through detailed questions about the procurement process for the OSM contract, including scrutiny of the awarded company COEMPT EduTeck's background and previous associations with firms involved in past evaluation failures. The committee has identified multiple concerning changes across three versions of the Request for Proposals (RFPs), including the removal of provisions disqualifying bidders with poor performance records, weakening of blacklist criteria, reduction in scanning resolution requirements from 300 to 200 DPI, and elimination of specifications for robotic scanners and paper-handling procedures. Both agencies face June 8-10 deadlines to submit written responses, with the investigation also examining the NTA's implementation of the 101 recommendations from the Radhakrishnan Committee Report on examination reforms.
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- The HinduCenter
Parliamentary panel looking into NEET, OSM issues; seeks answers from NTA, CBSE
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