Has the NEET paper leak completely broken the government’s confidence in the system? Will the security of question papers now depend on the Indian Air Force? Did the outsourced system of NTA become the biggest weak link? Is the future of 23 lakh students again in danger of some new disturbance?
NEET UG Retest: India’s biggest medical entrance examination (NEET-UG) is no longer just an examination but is becoming an issue of national security. After the historic paper leak on May 3 and playing with the future of 23 lakh students, the central government is now ready to go to any extent to save its reputation. Under the direct supervision of the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the Education Ministry and the Defense Ministry are considering an unprecedented step that has created a stir in the political and administrative circles of the country. It is reported that now the help of ‘Indian Air Force’ (IAF) can be taken to secure and deliver the question papers of the re-test to be held on 21st June.
‘Zero Trust’ Policy: Has trust in the system been lost?
Till now, NEET question papers were delivered to the examination centers through postal services and local police security under the traditional pen-and-paper mode. But it has become clear in the CBI investigation that this entire journey from the printing press to the examination centers proved to be the weakest link due to human interference and corruption. The ‘chain’ from the printing press of Nashik to the examination centers has become so corrupt that the government no longer has confidence in its own civil machinery, NTA officials and the local police. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s new mantra of “Zero-Trust, Always Inspect” has made it clear that now no ordinary officer in the system will be blindly trusted.
Question papers will rain from the sky: Bulletproof vehicles and IAF wings will take command
Under this new and surprising plan of logistics, the confidential question papers of NEET-UG will be transported directly from the printing center to the nearest airbase in heavily secured bulletproof vehicles. From there, special aircraft and helicopters of the Indian Air Force (IAF) will land these question papers on time to sensitive and remote examination centers across the country. Air Force is also being considered as the most accurate and sure shot option to deal with the unexpected monsoon rains and bad weather in the month of June.
‘Show off’ or ‘Masterstroke’? The atmosphere was heated due to the sharp taunts of experts and opposition
The decision of this military involvement has surprised the country’s security experts and political veterans. Expressing concern over this, Major General Raju Chauhan (retd) raised the question whether all the existing systems of the country have failed to such an extent that now the army has to be called for everything? At the same time, geopolitical affairs expert Rohit Vats termed it as “pure optics”. The opposition has also taken the government to task over this decision; Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi sarcastically said that if it is so, then in future, “Naval submarines should also be used for the work of scanning answer sheets and uploading them on the server.”
Swamp of outsourcing: The future of 23 lakh students depends on 22 permanent employees!
The root of this entire mega-crisis is hidden in the internal structure of the National Testing Agency (NTA). According to the information given in Parliament, NTA has only 22 permanent employees on deputation, while the rest of the work is done by 38 contract staff and 138 outsourced employees. This mega-leak was the result of handing over such a sensitive examination to private and temporary hands. Now it remains to be seen whether the government, with the help of fighter wings and bulletproof security of the Air Force, is able to conduct the examination on June 21 without any blemish, or will this ‘military experiment’ remain only a means to hide an administrative failure? The suspense still continues.