Invest in question banks, set question paper closer to exam: House panel to NTA

Why in the News

Entrance test papers should move from being set long in advance to being drawn from a continuously updated question bank just before the exam, on government owned computer centres. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports made the case in its 382nd report, “Reforms and Strengthening of the National Testing Agency”, presented to the Rajya Sabha Chairman.

Why does the panel want a question bank?

1. Question bank: A large pool of vetted questions from which a paper is assembled only when needed, like drawing cards from a shuffled deck, so no setter knows the final paper.
2. Leak window: A pen and paper test is set long before the exam to allow printing and transport, and each extra day widens the window for a leak.
3. What CBT changes: Computer based testing (CBT) needs no printed or transported papers, so final papers can be set very close to the exam from questions experts vet using digital tools.
4. Vetter quarantine: The experts who check the final paper should be strictly quarantined, cut off from outside contact, until the examination ends.
5. The takeaway: The panel calls question banks the most viable long run defence against leaks, shifting security from guarding paper to shortening the time a paper exists.

What infrastructure must come before NEET-UG moves online?

1. NEET-UG to CBT: The Committee broadly concurs with a phased shift to CBT, including for the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET-UG), once secure government owned infrastructure exists.
2. Government centres: It wants 1,000 secure government CBT centres set up on a clear, phased timeline, particularly in smaller cities and rural areas, so reliance on private centres ends.
3. School and college labs: The National Testing Agency (NTA) should itself fund mid sized information technology (IT) labs of 100 to 200 nodes (computer terminals) in schools and colleges.
4. District coverage: At least one test centre in every district should offer all exams, cutting students’ travel and lodging costs.
5. Private centres as weak link: Private institutions used as sub contracted centres have often proved a “weak link”, so all centres should be owned and operated by the Union or State governments.

What other safeguards does the panel propose?

1. Vetted experts: Bona fide experts from the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) should build question banks and translations, after integrity checks.
2. Vendor blacklist: NTA should create and maintain a national registry of blacklisted examination vendors.
3. Hybrid interim model: Until full CBT readiness, encrypted questions can be delivered to a centre and printed there, which the Committee was told is feasible.
4. Late candidates: Candidates arriving a few minutes late for genuine reasons may enter after giving an undertaking, but get no extra time.
5. Manpower shortage: The panel flagged NTA’s staff shortage and urged it to speed up permanent recruitment and develop its own permanent cadre.

Challenges

1. Building cost: Government centres in every district need sustained funding and years of work, delaying the shift.
2. Digital divide: Rural candidates with little computer exposure may be disadvantaged when tests move on screen.
3. Multi-shift fairness: A test as large as NEET-UG may need several CBT sessions, which raises questions about normalising scores across shifts.
4. Fragile trust: A single breach damages confidence in the whole system. Eg. The NEET-UG 2024 paper leak and grace marks controversy.

Way Forward

1. Funded roadmap: The Ministry of Education should publish a funded, phased plan for the government centre network.
2. Practice access: NTA should offer free CBT practice sessions for rural candidates before the switch.
3. Audited normalisation: Any method used to equalise scores across shifts should be independently audited and explained to students in advance.
4. Time bound response: The government should table an action taken reply on each recommendation within a fixed period.

Conclusion

The report moves the debate from punishing leaks after they happen to designing tests that leave little to leak. Its effect now rests on the government’s response and on whether a government owned CBT network is ready before NEET-UG goes online.

Back2Basics: Department-related Standing Committees

1. What they are: Permanent committees of Parliament, each examining the work of particular ministries, including their budget allocations and spending.
2. Size: There are 24 such committees, each with 31 members drawn from both Houses.
3. Tenure: Members are nominated, not elected, and serve a one year term.
4. History: The system was formally constituted in 1993 and restructured to its present size in 2004.

Matching Previous Year Question

“[2026, GS2, 15 marks] Should education be treated primarily as a welfare obligation of the state or as a strategic investment for building a globally competitive, knowledge-driven nation? Critically evaluate.”