Come 2025, India’s renowned entrance exams, including the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG), will undergo major changes. A high-level committee from the Ministry of Education has proposed reforms to overhaul the way these exams are conducted. These changes aim to address serious concerns about exam integrity, security, and efficiency.

What are the key recommendations?

The seven-member committee has come up with a set of significant reforms in response to the growing public outcry over allegations of paper leaks and irregularities during the NEET-UG exams. 

The Digi Exam system, which has been inspired by the Digi Yatra system used in airports, will prevent impersonation. The committee recommends that the candidates upload their data before every exam so that there is no mismatch between the candidate appearing for the exam and the one who has enrolled for the course.

The panel also recommended that the NTA, which has been the body responsible for conducting major entrance exams like NEET-UG, JEE, and CUET, should focus only on holding exams and not recruitment work. This will improve the efficiency and streamline its function.

Multi-Stage testing for NEET-UG

The multi-stage testing system is another major change being proposed for NEET-UG. In line with the format of JEE, the committee suggests dividing NEET-UG into multiple stages. It should have clear cut-offs at every stage for a better ranking of the candidate. Further, a multi-session model has also been proposed for managing large candidate numbers in case of registrations reaching 2 lakh or above.

CUET-UG and subject changes

For CUET-UG exams, the committee has proposed the reduction of subject choices that the student can opt for. Today, the CUET-UG provides students with choices in 67 subjects, but the committee believes the number should be brought down to 37. One of the changes they are asking for is the reduction in domain subjects from 29 to 23.

Making corrections at exam centers

To address the issues regarding suspicious patterns in the allocation of exam centers, the committee suggests a Testing Centre Allocation Policy. Ideally, candidates should be able to choose exam centers within their district. The policy will flag any unusual patterns with the help of data analytics and prevent candidates from choosing less secure centers. Issues raised during the NEET-UG exam were also highlighted by the committee, which stated that centers in remote areas, with lesser surveillance, were linked to breaches.

Hybrid model for rural areas

For areas where computer-based tests (CBT) are not possible, the committee has suggested a hybrid model. In such regions, the question paper can be transmitted digitally, while answers are filled on OMR sheets by the candidates. This system reduces the risks linked with both CBT and the traditional pen-and-paper method, as seen with the NEET-UG paper leak earlier this year.

Mobile testing centers for rural areas

The committee has also suggested Mobile Testing Centres (MTCs) to reach out to candidates in rural or inaccessible locations, such as the Northeast or Himalayan regions.  

“Typically, a large bus with a seating capacity of 40-50 persons could accommodate 30 candidates. These MTCs should be equipped with secure servers that are connected to the command center," the committee said.

Training for exam teams

These national exams are very extensive; hence, all personnel who handle these must be adequately trained. The committee agreed on the continuous re-training of teams to prevent any breach and successfully respond to challenges. In this way, the entire process remains secure, and future needs will be met.

Standardized and accessible testing centers nationwide

In addition, the committee recommended Standradised Testing Centre (STC) in each district except those with a population less than 1,000. Such centers would be equipped to conduct both CBT and pen-and-paper formats and will be developed in government institutions to have 1,000 such centers in the country.

The broader purpose of these reforms is to bring in a smooth, safe, and efficient entrance examination system, one that accommodates increased numbers of candidates and retains the purity of its evaluation processes. The NTA moves towards more digitalized, automated systems as is in tune with the global movement for Computer-Adaptive Testing, which adapts questions' difficulty levels on a real-time basis on performance by the candidate.

In a nutshell, this is the most significant step that has been taken toward making entrance exams in India more transparent and secure. The Ministry of Education has already established a high-powered steering committee to ensure the successful implementation of these recommendations.