Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala Assembly on Tuesday passed a resolution urging the Centre to undertake comprehensive reforms in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) and the country’s national examination system, with the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF) and the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) joining hands to adopt the motion after rejecting amendments proposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The resolution, introduced by Higher Education Minister Roji M. John under Rule 118, expressed serious concern over repeated allegations of question paper leaks, examination irregularities, administrative lapses, technical failures, and shortcomings in evaluation and result publication. It said such issues had weakened the credibility, transparency and fairness of the national entrance examination system.
The BJP’s three-member legislature party moved amendments to the resolution. BJP member V. Muraleedharan argued that the Assembly should acknowledge the steps taken by the Central government against those responsible for the alleged irregularities.
The BJP maintained that the Centre had acted promptly after the controversies emerged and that the government’s response should be included in the resolution.
However, the proposed amendments were put to a vote and defeated by the House. The original resolution was later passed with the support of both the UDF and the LDF.
In the 140-member Assembly, the Congress-led UDF has 102 members, the CPI-M-led LDF has 35 members, and the BJP has three members.
The resolution stated that the repeated controversies surrounding NEET had caused widespread anxiety among students and parents while damaging public confidence in the country’s examination system.
It noted that the opportunities earned through years of hard work by lakhs of students, including those from Kerala, had been affected by examination malpractices and administrative failures. The Assembly said the situation was inconsistent with the constitutional principles of equal opportunity and social justice.
The resolution further pointed out that similar concerns had emerged in several other national-level examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), including NEET-UG, CUET-UG and UGC-CSIR examinations, along with recruitment examinations conducted by agencies such as the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) and the Railway Recruitment Board (RRB).
These repeated incidents, it said, reflected structural and administrative weaknesses in the national examination system.
The Assembly urged the Centre to initiate exemplary criminal proceedings against those involved in examination malpractices, fix accountability for administrative failures, strengthen technological safeguards and establish independent oversight mechanisms at every stage of the examination process.
It also called for comprehensive reforms to restore credibility, transparency and fairness in national entrance examinations.
The resolution further demanded greater consultation with state governments in policy decisions related to national entrance tests, pointing out that education falls under the Concurrent List of the Constitution.
With IANS inputs