INDIA’S education system is set to witness an unprecedented episode on June 21 when Indian Air Force (IAF) planes will be engaged in transportation of question papers for NEET UG re-examination across India. Till June 21, paper setters for the retest have been put under strict isolation in a secure, undisclosed location. Enhanced security measures are in place to safeguard the integrity of the medical entrance test after the controversy surrounding the cancelled May examination. It is ironic that the nation’s military saviours are pressed into service of a routine, academic exercise. But then, such are the times and situations in institutions which are supposed to hone the future of the country.

 

There is still no guarantee that the retest is conducted without any glitches or leaks. Despite all security measures, there is still a possibility of someone steeped in utter immorality finding a way to reach the dark alley and playing with lakhs of innocent lives. Even if the NEET retest is conducted without any problem, it will in no way heal the colossal pain of countless families mourning the death of their kids due to examination pressure. It is, indeed, strange that the level of anxiety during examinations has reached a point of fear about the capability and credibility of the entire system conducting examinations. The hideous NEET fiasco and the unpardonable CBSE scandal have totally exposed the dirty nexus controlling India’s education system. What started as an effort to change the mindset about education is eventually turning into a dangerous trap where merit and hard work is being sacrificed at the altar of commerce. In a bid to shrug the colonial baggage from India’s education system, a new narrative is being imposed with a marking style defying logic.

 

These are all signs of decay which ultimately will harm India’s future work-force. The outrage in young people over the NEET paper leak is not misplaced. It is a major embarrassment for the Education Ministry which has spectacularly failed to stem the rot. Details emerging from the investigation in the leak are mindboggling. The roots are entrenched deep into the hinterland where coaching centres are calling shots and paper-setters are in cahoots with administrative machinery. The competitive examinations and entrance tests are gradually mutating into bureaucratic horror stories. And there is hardly any remorse at the power-centre. In majority homes of India, education is seen as the most reliable channel for upward mobility. Parents put their hard-earned life savings in their children’s education with total trust on the fairness of the system. The same system fails them when paper leaks, administrative opacity and evaluation scams become a norm in education.

 

The NEET and CBSE episodes are offshoots of the same nexus which has shattered trust of untold numbers of families in the education system. It is not an exaggeration, as some would like to paint it by viewing this issue from the political lens. It is a reality that needs course-correction before the rot snuffs out many more innocent lives due to examination pressure. The Government has an opportunity now to take a relook at the entire system by keeping the NEET and CBSE episodes as case studies. There is simply too much bureaucratic control on our education system. It is not only stifling the idea of meritocracy but also hindering the teaching community. With too many processes to complete and pressure of ensuring good results, teachers are turning into mere facilitators pushing students from one class to the next class. Deregulation remains a fair solution to ease this burden. The basic essence of teaching is not producing students with high marks but shaping young minds into sensitive and street-smart people ready to tackle problems arising in daily life and thinking of national good.

 

The current system, unfortunately, deals only in marks instead of a marked improvement in character. Mark Twain’s famous quip that education is not the filling of a bucket but the lighting of a fire is actually in practice in India. With the system allowing generous sprinkling of marks even for attempting a question, mental capacity and rational thinking of a student are being muzzled. The marks on the result-sheet have become an assortment of numbers for attempting questions rather than accurate solutions. Instead of instilling a false sense of superiority, some lessons in practical life can always do wonders for the young minds. But, it will entail curbing of a parallel system hampering school and college education in India. The coaching class boom is causing unprecedented harm to the future generation. It has turned education from being a social issue to a socio-economic issue. The high cost of private coaching classes equipped with modern methods is not only burdening parents but also putting an additional pressure of performance on students. It is robbing kids of precious time for socialising and young people in their formative years of invaluable life lessons that college education imparted to the earlier generations. Today, the reference of college (Std XI and XII) for teenagers remains only as an exam centre. Private coaching classes are their new colleges without all the freedom that once the “easy” year of Std XI offered to youngsters. It is nothing but academic dumbing down of a generation. The NEET fiasco is just one side-story of the big opera called education. It needs a fresh and positive look. It needs the real Pariksha Pe Charcha. It needs freedom from the narrow confines of political narratives. The crisis is internal, and clear, and present and real, and deep. And the presence of IAF in the story confirms it!