Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Assembly Tuesday passed a resolution urging the Centre to comprehensively reform the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and the country’s national examination system, with the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) and the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) joining hands to adopt the motion after rejecting amendments moved by the BJP.
The resolution, introduced by Higher Education Minister Roji M. John under Rule 118, expressed serious concern over repeated allegations of question paper leaks, examination irregularities, administrative lapses, technical failures, and shortcomings in the evaluation and publication of results, saying these had eroded the credibility, transparency and fairness of the national entrance examination system.
The three-member BJP legislature party sought amendments to the resolution, with party member V. Muraleedharan arguing that the Assembly should acknowledge the action taken by the Central government against those responsible for the alleged irregularities.
The BJP maintained that the Centre had acted promptly after the controversies surfaced and that this should find mention in the resolution.
The amendments were put to vote and defeated by the House, following which the original resolution was passed with the support of the UDF and the LDF.
In the 140-member Assembly, the Congress-led UDF has 102 members, the CPI-M-led LDF 35, and the BJP three.
The resolution stated that the recurring controversies surrounding the NEET had generated widespread anxiety among students and parents while undermining public confidence in the country’s examination system.
It said the opportunities earned through years of hard work by lakhs of students, including those from Kerala, had been adversely affected by examination malpractices and administrative failures, making the situation inconsistent with the constitutional principles of equal opportunity and social justice.
It further observed that similar concerns had surfaced in several other national-level examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), including NEET-UG, CUET-UG and UGC-CSIR examinations, as well as recruitment tests conducted by agencies such as the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB).
These repeated incidents, it said, pointed to structural and administrative weaknesses in the national examination system.
The Assembly urged the Centre to initiate exemplary criminal proceedings against those responsible for examination malpractices, fix accountability for administrative lapses, strengthen technological safeguards and independent oversight at every stage of the examination process, and undertake comprehensive reforms to restore the credibility, transparency and fairness of national entrance examinations.
It also called for greater consultation with state governments in policy decisions relating to national entrance tests, noting that education falls under the Concurrent List of the Constitution.
