ABVP submits 'comprehensive recommendations' on exam reforms to Nilekani-led task force

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Monday said it has submitted a "comprehensive set of recommendations" on examination reforms to the Nandan Nilekani-led high-powered task force set by the Centre, calling for making major competitive exams, including NEET, more transparent, secure, reliable and student-friendly.

"A key recommendation is to conduct major competitive examinations in two stages - the first for shortlisting candidates and the second for final selection," the RSS affiliate said in a statement.

The ABVP also suggested exploring the feasibility of conducting NEET for admission to medical courses twice a year, it said.


"The other recommendations include greater use of computer-based examinations, stronger question-paper security, uniform national standards for examination centres, robust candidate verification and data protection, transparent systems for answer keys, normalisation and tie-breaking, and clear protocols for technical or administrative failures, including re-examination wherever necessary," the statement said.

The ABVP said it has also proposed independent security and process audits, a national question bank, digital evaluation, an integrated examination management system and a central examination dashboard.

For long-term reforms, it has called for better coordination between curriculum, teaching, assessment and entrance exams, stronger institutional learning to reduce dependence on coaching, career counselling, competency-based assessment and phased implementation of major reforms through pilot projects, reviews and independent audits.

"Our recommendations focus on making the entire process, from registration and examination to evaluation and selection, more transparent, secure and accountable. We have placed both immediate solutions and long-term reforms before the high-powered task force," ABVP national general secretary Virendra Singh Solanki said.

He said a "two-stage examination model" can make the selection process more systematic while reducing the pressure associated with a single high-stakes examination.

Solanki said that if invited by the task force for further discussions, the ABVP will present "practical models" for implementing its recommendations.

"The larger objective is clear: every student must get a fair and equal opportunity, and the examination system must earn and retain the trust of the students and society," he said.

"Students should be able to compete on the basis of their knowledge and hard work, not be made to bear the consequences of gaps in the examination system," Solanki added.