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NEET Impersonation Scam

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October 05, 2019

What is the issue?

  • There was an exposure of a NEET examination scam recently.
  • A couple of mails sent to the administrators of the Theni Government Medical College, Tamil Nadu blew the lid off the scam with far-reaching consequences.

What did happen?

  • A student of the Theni Government Medical College had gained his seat through ploy — by having someone impersonate him at the NEET.
  • This turned out to be only the tip of the iceberg, and as investigators began unravelling the spool, more skeletons tumbled out.
  • A number of students and their parents were investigated for possible impersonation fraud in the NEET.
  • They were investigated for operating with the help of middlemen to hire a medical student to write the test for them, for a hefty consideration.
  • This required spinning a careful web of deception.
    1. Submitting photos of the impersonator in the NEET application forms to appear for the examinations and for single-window counselling for admissions.
    2. Submitting the application with the original student’s photo at the allotted college.
  • Further probe cast a shadow on the admission of more students, including in private medical colleges.
  • With the CB-CID tasked with investigating the case, bits and pieces of the puzzle are falling in place, revealing a multi-State operation.
  • Larger picture - With all its many nuances, larger picture is not clear.
  • It’s evident that fraud has been committed and serious lapses in procedures and processes were exploited by students eager to score a medical seat.
  • They might have gotten away with it, for an anonymous tip-off.

What could be done?

  • Given that NEET was intended to standardise testing for admission into medical colleges and ensure a certain minimum quality, such lapses  erode the very core of its raison d’étre.
  • The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Testing Agency are the agencies which conducts the examination.
  • They must exhibit zero tolerance to such attempts to frustrate the integrity of the test.
  • They must immediately set their energies to identify gaps in the existing system.
  • They must ensure that a foolproof testing methodology is in place.
  • Using biometrics to identify students taking NEET has been suggested, and its value in adding a further layer of checks and balances is indisputable.
  • Parents and students too would do well to temper their vaulting ambition for an MBBS seat with a measure of rationality.
  • There are only a limited number of MBBS seats available, and while that number is slowly growing, it will never equal the demand.

 

Source: The Hindu

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