Restoring trust in India’s examination system

The successful conduct of the rescheduled NEET-2026 examination offered India a moment of relief after weeks of uncertainty triggered by a devastating paper leak. Yet the crisis, followed by the CBSE Class XII evaluation controversy and the tragic coaching centre fire in Lucknow, has exposed deeper structural flaws that extend far beyond administrative lapses.

India heaved a great sigh of relief in the evening of June 21 of 2026, as the media splashed reports of the successful conduct of the rescheduled NEET-2026 exam. Its earlier cancellation on account of the paper leak had cast a pall of widespread gloom not only on the young aspirants and their families but throughout the nation. It cast serious aspersions on our examination management systems, institutions and the expertise generated over several decades. The community of teachers felt greatly let down as details of the modus operandi used by the mafia and the anti-social elements emerged. The needle of suspicion moved swiftly to the paper setters, to teachers, academics and educators.  The coaching centres were obviously there as the usual suspects. The union education minister has lately called it a great betrayal and one fully endorses his assessment.   When a paper-setter in an examination of any level stoops to the level of leaking the paper, becoming a shameful part and parcel of the mafia involved in corrupting the education and examination system, the nation must get alerted and ponder over the inadequacies in preparing and recruiting its teachers at every stage. The system in spite of its vast magnitude, just can’t afford to have even a single teacher bereft of moral and ethical conduct. 

Consequently, India must also seriously audit its systems of teacher preparation, recruitment and procedures of ascertaining their continuous academic advancement and professional growth along with the critical contours of personality development.  Teachers are supposed to nurture moral, ethical and humanistic values in their wards. They are supposed to scrupulously adhere to an exemplary work culture, which is quietly internalised by their students. Every teacher is a partner in preparing the future of India. They are the role models with whom the child interacts as the child transitions to school.  Others come only at a later stage.

As the nation was slowly coming out of the anguish and anxiety inflicted by the postponement of the NEET exam, the CBSE announced its Class XII results, and that created an unprecedented situation of gloom and despair. For the first time, the CBSE opted for the digital marking system popularly known as OSM (On-Screen Marking). It chose Class XII for it, a stage that determines the individual-specific future course of studies that the learner would like to pursue. The CBSE claims to have taken all the necessary steps to prepare its own system and train its evaluators to perform their job efficiently. The technical glitches, and probably also deficiencies, on the part of the outsourced agency let down the CBSE. The sufferings inflicted on the enthusiastic yet highly sensitive young people disrupted their future plans in numerous instances, as the results they received were far below their expectations.  

One expects the CBSE would be better equipped with technical expertise and conduct all of its future exams successfully.  When even a single young person commits suicide, due to the inefficiency and greed of others, the entire nation needs to take note of the factors responsible for it. Responsibility must be fixed and stern actions taken wherever necessary. Unfortunately, it has not been the case in the past, the guilty are not behind bars.

As if the two exam fiascos referred to above were not enough to give a wake-up call to all concerned, the Lucknow coaching center fire that snatched away fifteen young lives comes as a thundering wake-up call.   The Uttar Pradesh Government has responded swiftly, 18 engineers booked, four more arrested. Coaching Centers are being inspected throughout the state! It is well established that every fire tragedy is invariably a consequence of total neglect of fire safety norms, classes conducted in structures that brutally ignore the structural building norms.  One wonders why these basic essentials are not checked at regular intervals. Extraordinary arrangements were made to ensure the proper conduct of the NEET re-examination on June 21. There were no reports of impersonators or solvers even making an attempt to trespass.  

The planning worked, and the successful conduct brought a sigh of relief.  One fervently hopes that the systems will gear themselves afresh, and in the coming years, no young individual shall encounter situations that could plunge him/her in continuous anxiety, uncertainty, a sense of fear, and underperformance. Every human being is touched to the core when the reports of the suicide note of a teenager: ‘I just can’t bear the tension already undergone once again’.   One’s heart goes out to the bereaved families; every sensitive soul mourns with them.

This probably does not include the mafia, and also the parents who encourage the purchase of ‘leaked papers’, spend vulgar amounts, and commit the sin of throwing away millions of other young people and their families in immeasurable agony and pain.

When even a single suicide takes place consequent upon anti-social and immoral machinations of rogue elements, the entire nation must stand up to ensure that it’s not repeated again. In a humane world, everyone who believes in “Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah” has a role to perform.  The social system must take a serious note, expose them as the culprits who damage lives, kill young aspirations, and commit heinous social sacrilege. 

Apart from putting all our expectations of strict action against the mafia solely on government action, which have been mostly inadequate, lethargic and inefficient, time has come when institutions, teachers and academics, and non-political social activists also accept their role in bringing back the moral order in the world of education.

It is common knowledge that when it comes to the preparation of a child in the family for examinations like CBSE, NEET, JEE and others, it is the entire family that gears up to assist and inspire. No disturbance or distractions could be permitted. Think of the anxiety and hope of the parents of a brilliant child, educated in a government school, from a family with scant earnings, how life-transforming could be the success in such examinations.

The challenge before the nation is to restore the reputation of its schools and higher education organisations in their competence and capability to maintain the purity of the system of examinations and assessment at each stage. The uncertainty, anxiety and the tension must not be permitted to retard the enthusiasm and self-confidence of even a single child getting ready to compete. The community of teachers must come forward as one unit to keep the miscreants out.

The NEP-2020 has prominently assured the nation, “The teacher shall be at the centre of the fundamental reforms in education system.” It commits to making teachers “as the most respected and essential members of our society. The teachers must feel empowered and enabled to perform their duty effectively.” The present position of teachers is well known to the system and society. It would require Herculean efforts to bring it to the appropriate level indicated above.  There is no escape but to strive hard as the system has to be reformed and transformed effectively.

One expects the CBSE would be better equipped with technical expertise and conduct all of its future exams successfully.  When even a single young person commits suicide, due to the inefficiency and greed of others, the entire nation needs to take note of the factors responsible for it

The author is an educationist, a Padma Shri awardee, and works in religious amity and social cohesion; Views presented are personal.