PTIAmid the NEET exam leak controversy, another row has erupted over the University Grants Commission (UGC) switching from computer-based to paper-based National Eligibility Test (NET).
ET gathers the apex higher education body made the format change without a full-strength commission or committee report/recommendations.
ET's repeated queries on the issue to the UGC, the education ministry and the National Testing Authority (NTA) did not elicit any response.
The UGC-NET, which was conducted in a paper-based format by the UGC since 1989, transitioned to a computer-based test (CBT) format in 2018 when the NTA assumed responsibility for the testing process.
In April 2024, the UGC and NTA abruptly announced that the 2024 edition of UGC-NET will only be held in OMR (pen and paper-based) format. However, a day later, the education ministry cancelled the June 18 OMR test, citing suspected leaks. Ten days later, on June 28, the UGC-NTA announced the "UGC-NET June 2024 cycle examination will now be held in the CBT mode."
Interestingly, none of this flip-flop seems to have been taken up in the UGC Commission through its time-tested process.
Due process at the UGC entails an expert committee that examines all aspects of the subject and makes its recommendation to the whole commission for debate and approval.
ET reviewed all commission minutes since 2022 and found no reference of a committee or panel to review the UGC-NET exam structure or a suggestion to switch from CBT to OMR mode, as was done this year.
ET was also informed by commission members until August 2023 that they were unaware of any such idea or committee. A UGC judgement is usually made after expert committees and the commission deliberate. "No such proposal came in until July 2023," a former member told ET on condition of anonymity.
In the 576th commission meeting on January 16, 2024, the minutes mention the CUET & NET exam but do not indicate a format change.
The UGC Act, 1956, says the commission must have ten other members besides the chairman and vice chairman and half of the members must be non-governmental.
All UGC's eight non-governmental members (mainly academics) had completed their three year terms by July 2023 and new members were only appointed by the Centre in April 2024.
Accordingly, the January meeting of the commission only had four members present and all of them being government officials, as per the minutes.
Government insiders told ET that the push for the exam format change from CBT to OMR seems to have come at UGC's behest rather than the NTA which conducts the exam. Having experienced technical glitches with the first rounds of CBT-based CUET, the logistical difficulty in finding adequately equipped exam centres and conducting exam through multiple question papers and shifts over days, the UGC is said to have frequently pitched a return to the single-day OMR format exam for UGC-NET.
ET gathers the apex higher education body made the format change without a full-strength commission or committee report/recommendations.
ET's repeated queries on the issue to the UGC, the education ministry and the National Testing Authority (NTA) did not elicit any response.
The UGC-NET, which was conducted in a paper-based format by the UGC since 1989, transitioned to a computer-based test (CBT) format in 2018 when the NTA assumed responsibility for the testing process.
In April 2024, the UGC and NTA abruptly announced that the 2024 edition of UGC-NET will only be held in OMR (pen and paper-based) format. However, a day later, the education ministry cancelled the June 18 OMR test, citing suspected leaks. Ten days later, on June 28, the UGC-NTA announced the "UGC-NET June 2024 cycle examination will now be held in the CBT mode."
Interestingly, none of this flip-flop seems to have been taken up in the UGC Commission through its time-tested process.
MINUTE BY MINUTE
Due process at the UGC entails an expert committee that examines all aspects of the subject and makes its recommendation to the whole commission for debate and approval.
ET reviewed all commission minutes since 2022 and found no reference of a committee or panel to review the UGC-NET exam structure or a suggestion to switch from CBT to OMR mode, as was done this year.
ET was also informed by commission members until August 2023 that they were unaware of any such idea or committee. A UGC judgement is usually made after expert committees and the commission deliberate. "No such proposal came in until July 2023," a former member told ET on condition of anonymity.
In the 576th commission meeting on January 16, 2024, the minutes mention the CUET & NET exam but do not indicate a format change.
TRUNCATED COMMISSION
The truncated commission in place at the January 16, 2024 meeting and all prior sessions before the test format change calls into doubt the level and quality of deliberation on this decision.The UGC Act, 1956, says the commission must have ten other members besides the chairman and vice chairman and half of the members must be non-governmental.
All UGC's eight non-governmental members (mainly academics) had completed their three year terms by July 2023 and new members were only appointed by the Centre in April 2024.
Accordingly, the January meeting of the commission only had four members present and all of them being government officials, as per the minutes.
INSIDE TRACK
Government insiders told ET that the push for the exam format change from CBT to OMR seems to have come at UGC's behest rather than the NTA which conducts the exam. Having experienced technical glitches with the first rounds of CBT-based CUET, the logistical difficulty in finding adequately equipped exam centres and conducting exam through multiple question papers and shifts over days, the UGC is said to have frequently pitched a return to the single-day OMR format exam for UGC-NET.
Get Unlimited Access to The Economic Times
