India is a Country where Competitive exams hold a weightage of their own. Amongst this plethora of examinations, standing tall with a grace of its own is the entrance exam for medicinal courses across the nation. The NEET (National Eligibility cum Entrance Test) was designed to be the sole entrance exam for all undergraduate courses pertaining to medicine since 2013. In the 10 years of its implementation, the exam has seen hundreds of successes and millions of failures. The anatomy of such an important exam can be both awe-inspiring and extremely daunting across its many levels of functioning.
As of 2023, a staggering 20,36,316 students from across the length and breadth of the diverse country of India appeared in NEET. Being the gateway to an extremely hallowed profession, NEET has always been the focal point of attention since its early days of conception. Before its implementation, the many states of the country held their own entrance exams unique from each other.
They upheld their distinct syllabus and pattern. Twenty-eight states of the country each following different approaches for the promotion of an extremely important sector of public services was utterly chaotic at the very least. Additionally, after 76 years of India’s independence, different regions of the nation developed very differently from each other. All of this eventually led to a difference in the educational facilities and methodologies used in different provinces.
NEET was introduced to centralise the entrance exams to all medical courses and also, to guarantee a certain level of uniformity in the syllabus. So, while its primary role is to act as a filter to remove ineligible candidates from the fray, NEET has bigger implications for the Unitary Government at the Centre, as it is the functioning right hand in the promotion of Pan-India education. State Federalism as guaranteed in the Constitution is upheld by the system with 85% State Quotas. This guarantees at least 85% domicile students in the State funded colleges.
Initially, this daunting task of preparing a pan-Indian examination of this scale was given to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). After successfully conducting the exam for half a decade, the power of holding the examination eventually slipped out to the newly minted National Testing Agency(NTA).
With a change in the organising committee, a variation was also noticeable in the pattern of the NEET question paper. The original version advocated by CBSE in 2013 spanned 3 hours and had a total of 180 questions, rendering equal weightage to Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology. Every section had 45 questions.
The original marking scheme awarded 4 marks for every correct answer and a negative mark for every mistake. Under NTA, swift changes were seen from the 2022 session onwards when the duration of the exam was stretched to 3 hours 20 minutes even as the total number of questions witnessed an increase to 200 questions.
Another variation was the addition of a second subsection under every subject that offered the candidates a choice between the different problems. Out of a total of 15 questions, 10 questions were to be attempted from this section. The maximum attainable marks remained constant at 720.
NEET question papers are designed keeping in mind the syllabus that covers all the chapters of the Class 10+1 and Class 10+2 subjects. Even as the syllabus remained the same for the last 10 years, a major shift in the level of questions was observed. While under the auspices of CBSE, the difficulty level of the question paper was considerably higher than its NTA counterparts.
Several questions requiring higher knowledge and understanding were specifically designed to keep the exam competitive. Till 2018, when CBSE conducted their last NEET, the highest score never went beyond 700. Post-2018, and into the NTA era, a steep fall in the difficulty level was noted by most experts.
Questions were becoming less diverse and undue focus was being diverted to the contents of the National Council of Educational Research and Training publications. As the NCERT study materials were easier to find and were much more economical, the average marks saw a phenomenal increase in the year 2019. The 2019 topper secured 701 to the 691 marks by his predecessor, the 2018 topper.
The next few years saw an even heavier inclination on NCERT. Physics and the Chemistry section copy and pasting of the Chapter-end problems. Even the values of the numericals were left unaltered. This naturally gave an undue advantage for students hailing from the CBSE Board, as the NCERT was the go-to book for CBSE students.
The local State Board students were often outclassed as the level and type of questions were different from the ones that were taught in their syllabus. Many State Governments took it upon themselves to combat the monopoly of NEET resulting in protests against its implication.
Another major consequence of NEET was the rise of Coaching centres. As the competition grew steadily, there came a need to provide quality educational services that could help the students handle the difficult syllabus of the exam. Narayana Institute set up in 1979, Allen Educational Services in 1988 and Aakash Institute formed in 1998 enjoyed a massive growth in revenue.
Aakash quadrupled its revenue from 3 billion Indian rupees in 2014 to a staggering 12.14 billion rupees in 2020. This led to the formation of an entirely new ecosystem of corporate jobs. Allen paved the way for a new identity for the Rajasthani city of Kota. With 300,000 students migrating to the city every year for quality coaching services, Kota was nicknamed the ‘Coaching Capital’ of India. However, this major boost to the Indian economy also had a darker side.
As more corporates entered the coaching scene, the entire NEET scenario got even more competitive. Eventually, in the race to success, several unfortunate aspirants found themselves crushed under the weight of Indian education. In 2023 alone, 26 coaching students committed suicide in Kota. With the growth of corporations, many zealous groups began trying to get the best results out of their students. The overly competitive environment fostered by many of these institutions resulted in the abetment of suicide for many aspirants.
NEET comes to the fore with a set of the most basic yet stringent eligibility criteria. The minimum age limit was set at 17 years. In order to sit for the exam, the candidate must have completed their 10+2 education in Physics, Chemistry, Biology or Biotechnology and Mathematics under an education board recognised by the Indian Government.
There is an additional requirement of 50% marks in the Class 12 examinations. The only respite from the demanding competition is the possibility of an unlimited number of attempts with no upper age barrier for participation.
NEET is held in 554 Exam centres that dot the diverse landscape of India from the Garo Khasi hills in the east to the Gulf of Kutch in the West and from Kanyakumari in the South to Kashmir in the North. With such high stakes, also comes the high chances of potential fraud.
Impersonations and cheating possibilities always hover over the exam centres. To combat this, the Indian Government recruits the Army to help in the security process. They assist the candidates with their documents and ensure the proper seating of every one of them in their pre-arranged exam hall.
For the examinee, the NEET exam day is marked by relentless pressure and stress. The dedication and hard work of the previous year all boils down to the one last committed stand on the highest of pedestals. The hawkish gaze of the invigilators ensures a fair examination. The NEET race is marked by three pit stops.
The first bell sounds at the beginning of the exam. The second is to mark the 3-hour point. Once the final bell sounds at the end of the exam, a huge burden of stress drops from the shoulders of every student. The tired bones, however, do not get a respite. The pressure of performing well gets replaced by a load of paranoia.
With the total number of medical seats being around 92,000, the selection rate hovers around just 4.5%. Out of every 100 students, 95 will have to choose between a difficult drop year for another attempt or the painful realisation of failure and the consequent opting for a different, less intense field. NEET eventually becomes an important turning point in the lives of all its candidates and leaves an indelible mark on their lives in the years to come.
By: Aratrik Tarafdar
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