June 24th 2024.
The younger generation of our country, full of ambition and dreams for a successful career, is currently facing a traumatic experience due to a corrupt examination system. It is disheartening to see that the government, led by the BJP, has turned a blind eye to this issue. The lives of countless young individuals have been jeopardized by allowing a faulty and corrupt system to thrive. It is evident that the ruling party's priorities lie in promoting one religion and vilifying another, rather than addressing the pressing concerns of unemployment, poverty, and economic inequality that plague the majority of our population.
Unfortunately, instead of taking action to alleviate the cost of living crisis, the government has chosen to divert attention by injecting communal ideologies into our political landscape. However, after 10 years of BJP rule, the people have finally awakened to the harsh reality and have prevented the party from gaining a simple majority in the recent elections. This sends a clear message that enough is enough. Yet, the recent scandal of leaked question papers and other irregularities in the NEET-UG and UGC-NET exams has exposed the deep-rooted corruption within our system.
The government has failed the people by allowing Subodh Kumar Singh, the Director General of the National Testing Agency, to remain in his position for over a year. During his tenure, unscrupulous individuals took advantage of the system and committed fraudulent acts, resulting in the mockery of these two important exams. It was only after widespread protests and criticism from the Opposition that the Centre finally removed him from his post. Retired IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola has been appointed as the new DG, with additional responsibilities given to him until a permanent replacement is found.
However, this decision came too late for the 1,500 students who were scheduled to retake the NEET-UG exam and for those preparing for the CSIR UGC NET exam, which had to be postponed due to logistical reasons. The government also handed over the investigation into the alleged irregularities to the CBI, highlighting the gravity of the situation. It is unacceptable that the government's spokespersons had been denying any paper leaks until two days ago, only to make a sudden U-turn when faced with undeniable evidence.
Sadly, this is a common tactic of incompetent governments - setting up committees to investigate major wrongdoings and then waiting for reports on how to improve the system. It is a delay tactic to allow public anger to subside and for things to go back to normal. However, recent elections have shown that the public's memory is not as short as some may think. The formation of a seven-member committee, headed by a former ISRO chief and including high-profile professionals, to look into the functioning of the NTA, is a classic case of closing the stable door after the horse has bolted.
The damage has been done, and the mental anguish and fear of being cheated by unscrupulous candidates who benefited from leaked question papers will continue to haunt the hundreds of thousands of young individuals who have worked hard to prepare for these exams. It is not enough to make one or two individuals the scapegoats for this administrative failure. The government must take accountability, especially when the Prime Minister himself has boasted about having his "teams" to run the administration. It is time for the government to take decisive action and fix the broken system, rather than hiding behind committees and deflecting blame.
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