NEET na mila re man ka in jugaad optics

Reports of GoI locking up NEET paper-setters, moderators and translators until end of re-exam on June 21 is ridiculous. When public trust has been shaken by leaks, authorities are, understandably, frantic to demonstrate control. But restricting digital access, isolating question-setters and tightening physical security smacks of desperate damage control. Such emergency measures cannot be a long-term strategy for a country purportedly a global information tech power.

All over the more-developed world, high-stakes exams have moved beyond relying solely on individuals and physical secrecy. China's annual university admission test, Gaokao - which, incidentally, started on Sunday - combines strict isolation of paper-setters with technological safeguards, compartmentalisation and layered access controls. Organisations that run the US' SAT, GRE and GMAT rely on large question banks, multiple test forms, digital delivery systems and statistical monitoring to reduce consequences of any single breach. NEET utilises multiple paper codes and question sets featuring jumbled question sequences to prevent copying. Yet, it still depends on a limited number of centrally-generated forms that must be securely created, stored, transported and distributed. The challenge isn't merely protecting those forms better, but to reduce systemic risk created when millions depend on a small set of pre-prepared papers.

Large, secure question banks can generate many versions of a paper. Questions can remain encrypted until the last moment. Few individuals should have visibility into the full process. 'Securing' NEET paper-setters like MLAs being kept in resorts before horse-trading is jugaad optics. Instead, build systems the integrity of which is foolproof.