More Weightage to Board Exams, Separate NEET: Recommendations on Edu Reforms
The Ministry of Education has been suggested with different proposals that included giving more weightage to board exam marks, and conducting separate NEET UG exams for MBBS/BDS, AYUSH and Nursing courses.
New Delhi: The Ministry of Education has been suggested with different proposals that included giving more weightage to board exam marks, and conducting separate NEET UG exams for MBBS/BDS, AYUSH and Nursing courses.
The Ministry of Education and the exam conducting authority National Testing Agency (NTA) are currently under immense pressure due to the cancellation of various exams after paper leaks, and the sudden rise in the students’ suicide cases.
As a result, the Education Ministry is considering to bring in various reforms in the current exam system and assessment pattern.
Separate NEET Exams
According to the reports, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports has suggested to hold separate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test or NEET entrance exam for admission to MBBS/BDS, AYUSH and Nursing Courses.
The NEET UG exam is compulsory entrance exam for admission in all medical courses. It is held every year for which more than 22 lakh students from India and abroad appear.
The Parliamentary Committee members are of the view that holding separate NEET exams for different medical courses would ease stress on the candidates, simultaneously reducing the scale and logistical complexity involved in conducting one of India's largest entrance examinations.
On its part, the National Testing Agency informed the committee that holding separate NEET exams would not be practical because admissions to MBBS, AYUSH and Nursing courses are all based on NEET-UG scores.
The Panel also suggested holding the NEET UG in multiple sessions instead of holding on a single day. This proposal, however, will automatically be addressed if the NEET exam is held in Online Mode from 2027 as the NTA has submitted in the Supreme Court of India.
More Weightage to board exams
Meanwhile, a nine-member committee formed by the Ministry of Education to look into the reforms has proposed to give at least 50% weightage to Class 12th board exam marks instead of the current rule wherein admission in medical, engineering, pharmacy, architecture are solely based on NEET, JEE, NATA and scores of other entrance exams.
The committee has also suggested to hold the NEET, JEE and other entrance exams more on the basis of the school syllabus.
"The changes being contemplated are 50 per cent weightage for board marks in admission/merit, closer alignment of entrance tests with school syllabi to reduce dependence on coaching centres, multiple attempts and a gradual shift towards adaptive on-demand computer-based tests," news agency PTI reported citing official sources.
The reforms are being considered by the Ministry of Education's nine-member committee set up last year to examine students' dependence on private coaching centres, the spread of "dummy schools" and fairness in high-stakes entrance tests.
The committee is likely to submit its final report to the government in the coming weeks. And, until the government takes any decision after the report's submission, these proposals will remain mere suggestions.
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