RSS' Vidya Bharti pitches for reforms in entrance exam pattern

Vidya Bharti, the educational arm of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, has suggested aptitude and attitude-based exam changes to the high-powered panel created by the centre following the NEET-UG paper leak.

The president of the Vidya Bharti Akhil Bhartiya Shiksha Sansthan, D Ramakrishna Rao, told reporters in New Delhi on Thursday that suggestions on entrance exam changes that eliminate coaching and rote learning and assess students' overall aptitude have been sent to the panel chaired by former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan.

"A committee has been set up by the government and we are hopeful that some good will come out of it. We do agree that the exam pattern needs to be changed so as to bring down the pressure on both students and parents," Rao said. Stating that the NEET exam leak was an issue of deep concern, Rao called for exam pattern changes that test not just the IQ but also competence, aptitude and attitude. He emphasised that if testing itself moved away from patterns that test 'rote learning' in competitive exams, leakages and such problems would automatically end.

Rao also supported the JEE Advanced style-testing system which is used by IITs and pointed out how their exam paper is never leaked.

He also proposed open book exams and provision of question paper banks to students so they can prepare on their own, eliminating the very need of coaching interventions.

Staying off the debate over NCERT's changed book content, Rao said that this was still work under progress as full-fledged textbooks are under preparation.