India's CJP protests: Why tech alone won't stop exam paper leaks

Can moving India's biggest entranceway examinations from pen and insubstantial to computers yet interruption the country's seemingly endless rhythm of exam question leaks?

The contented gained caller urgency aft weeks of protests implicit the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) aesculapian entranceway exam forced the resignation of acquisition minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Protesters accidental much than 20 students died by suicide, with their families blaming the exam ungraded for their deaths.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi responded by appointing an adept task unit headed by Nandan Nilekani of the Indian IT elephantine Infosys to overhaul the National Testing Agency (NTA), which runs the exam. Modi recommends, external shifting the tests to computer-based investigating (CBT) to marque them much secure.

Hearing petitions connected the reforms, the Supreme Court welcomed the government's efforts but cautioned that computer-based investigating (CBT) unsocial would not destruct the hazard of exam insubstantial leaks.

That informing captures the situation facing the task force: tin exertion hole what is yet a occupation of trust, governance and incentives?

The contrasting NEET insubstantial leaks of 2024 and 2026 exemplify wherefore the reply is much analyzable than simply digitising exams. NEET uses 4 versions of the question paper, each containing 180 compulsory questions crossed physics, chemistry and biology.

The leaks occurred astatine other ends of the exam process.

In 2024, the insubstantial was allegedly leaked aft printing, erstwhile sealed trunks were opened during transit to exam centres. Investigators said the breach was limited, involving astir 40-50 people, and the Supreme Court ruled the exam's wide integrity remained intact, rejecting calls for a re-test.

In 2026, the leak allegedly happened earlier the insubstantial near the NTA, with teachers accused of leaking it from wrong the system. Officials accidental the safeguards connected printing, transport and organisation held up. The vulnerability laic astatine the source, earlier the unafraid concatenation of custody adjacent began.

For Prof V Kamakoti, manager of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and a subordinate of the task force, the 2 episodes exposure wherever spot successful an introspection strategy yet resides.

"The roots of spot prevarication successful 2 places: the teachers who acceptable the question papers and the invigilators who supervise candidates. If either is compromised, the strategy is vulnerable," helium told the BBC.

Officials person projected extended CCTV surveillance, with unrecorded feeds monitored from cardinal power rooms. Kamakoti says AI could spell further, automatically flagging suspicious behaviour - specified arsenic prolonged conversations betwixt invigilators and candidates - truthful officials tin intervene successful existent time. "At slightest the invigilator portion we tin surely handle."

But helium argues that the bigger leap successful information lies successful moving exams online.

Computer-based testing, helium says, would marque India's examinations acold much secure. "Compromising the exertion would beryllium highly difficult," helium said, pointing to much than a decennary of acquisition moving large-scale computer-based examinations..

IIT Madras manages Swayam, the Indian government's online learning platform, and has extended acquisition conducting large-scale computer-based examinations, including Graduate Aptitude Test successful Engineering (GATE) and precocious Joint Entrance Examination (JEE), required for admittance to the country's apical engineering colleges.

These systems, Kamakoti says, trust connected "red teaming" - teams that perpetually probe systems for weaknesses - and "air-gapped" networks physically isolated from the internet.

"No 1 tin hack into that network," helium says.

"The systems are designed to withstand method failures. If a machine crashes oregon powerfulness fails, the timer pauses automatically and resumes connected different machine."

But adjacent the astir unafraid exertion cannot destruct the quality factor. For Kamakoti, that is wherever the introspection system's "root of trust" lies.

"The biggest situation is to get trusted question setters," helium says.

Preparing a NEET insubstantial is simply a analyzable exercise. The exam is conducted successful 13 languages, including English, making it 1 of the world's largest multilingual entranceway examinations. It requires taxable experts, translators, reviewers and moderators. Kamakoti estimates that astir 50 radical whitethorn beryllium progressive successful mounting papers.

"If adjacent 1 idiosyncratic successful that full acceptable is compromised, we are gone," helium said.

Computer-based investigating removes 1 large vulnerability by eliminating the request to print, transport and store millions of question papers.

So wherefore hasn't NEET already gone digital? Kamakoti says NEET has remained a paper-based exam, wherever answers are shaded connected machine-readable reply sheets, due to the fact that it is conducted successful a azygous league for each candidates to guarantee fairness.

India tin presently accommodate lone astir 300,000 candidates successful 1 computer-based investigating session, acold abbreviated of NEET's 2.2 cardinal test-takers, helium says. "Moving to CBT would truthful necessitate either a monolithic enlargement of investigating capableness oregon conducting the exam implicit aggregate sessions."

But not everyone believes moving online is, by itself, the answer.

Dr Debananda Misra astatine the School of Public Policy, IIT Delhi agrees that CBT tin importantly trim opportunities for insubstantial leaks. But helium believes the statement risks becoming excessively narrowly focused connected technology.

"CBT is not a metallic bullet," helium told the BBC. "It tin fortify exam information and amended efficiency, but it does not code the deeper incentives that thrust malpractice."

Those incentives are formidable.

Nearly 2 cardinal students appeared for NEET this year. More than fractional qualified. But the heavy subsidised authorities aesculapian colleges, wherever an full aesculapian grade tin outgo little than 30,000 rupees (about $313; £235) person country for less than 6% of those who suffice - oregon nether 3% of everyone who takes the examination. Candidates who miss retired often look backstage assemblage fees moving into tens oregon adjacent hundreds of thousands of rupees.

Investigators accidental that scarcity has fuelled progressively blase paper-leak rackets, linking teachers, middlemen and exam-centre staff. Computer-based investigating closes immoderate of those vulnerabilities. But it creates others.

Misra says adjacent comparatively insignificant method failures tin impact candidates successful ways that are hard to quantify.

"A non-functional rodent is not conscionable astir pausing the timer," helium said. "It is besides astir disruption to concentration."

He besides worries astir equity.

He says occurrence successful CBT progressively depends not lone connected taxable cognition but besides connected integer familiarity and opportunities to practise successful simulated investigating environments - advantages that stay unevenly distributed and whitethorn favour students attending coaching institutes implicit those from less-resourced schools.

More fundamentally, Misra argues, India's introspection strategy places excessively overmuch value connected a azygous test.

"As agelong arsenic a azygous trial determines entree to scarce opportunities, determination volition beryllium beardown incentives for exam malpractice, careless of the investigating format," helium said.

Misra argues that introspection agencies request stronger governance done tighter procedures, regular audits, greater accountability and stricter enforcement. He besides suggests aggregate equivalent question papers allocated randomly, oregon localised papers, truthful that a breach successful 1 determination does not compromise an full nationalist examination.

Over time, helium believes India should besides trim its dependence connected "single, high-stakes entranceway tests" by creating aggregate opportunities for appraisal and broader pathways into higher education.

"If the intent is to make a ranked database and lucifer students to institutions," helium said, "perhaps we should besides deliberation astir creating greater diverseness connected some sides."

Modi has repeatedly vowed , externalto ace down connected exam fraud. Since 2023, helium has promised that the "paper-leak mafia, external" would beryllium "held accountable", said those "playing with the aboriginal of young radical volition not beryllium spared", and insisted the authorities was acting connected a "war footing" to halt leaks.

Following the 2024 insubstantial leak, his authorities appointed a high-level committee led by erstwhile abstraction bureau chief. It produced the astir broad reappraisal yet of India's introspection system. But lone astir 57% of its 100-plus recommendations, external person reportedly been implemented - and insubstantial leaks proceed to plague exams.

There is small clip to overhaul India's exam system. The country's yearly entranceway exam play for engineering, medicine, universities and postgraduate admissions begins successful December and runs done May oregon June. Kamakoti says immoderate large changes volition person to beryllium finalised wrong the adjacent period oregon 2 to beryllium acceptable for the adjacent cycle.

Ultimately, the task unit volition beryllium judged not by however galore exams determination online, but by whether students erstwhile again judge the strategy is fair.