Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Thursday, 13 June 2024

125 Days Roadmap – Part H

 


 

 NEET : far from NEAT ?

 

Over the past few weeks, media is full of reports about what went wrong with the recent NEET exam

Some Background :

#   NEET is entrance exam for admission in Medical Colleges and conducted by NTA ( National Testing Authority )

#  It is an OFFLINE exam conducted once a year

#  In latest exam ( conducted on 5th May ) , some 24 lakh students registered . Of these 13.2 lakh qualified for seeking admission to 706 medical colleges in the country

#  Unfortunately , the number of seats available are only :

Ø  In Govt colleges ………………. 56,405

Ø  In Private colleges …………….53,600

================================

Ø  Total …………………………………..110,000



#  Number of Centres where exam got conducted …. approx. 4715 ( approx.. 500

 students / centre )



Allegations :

#   Exam paper got leaked before the exam

#  Evaluation was unfair – through grant of grace marks to some students, as can be seen below :



Questions :

A )  How to increase the number of seats in medical colleges ( also by starting new colleges ) so that

       at least 70 % of  those lakhs of aspirants can get admitted ? Especially , in the government

       colleges ?

      ( On an ave. tuition fees in Govt Medical Colleges are in the range of Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh/ year,

       whereas the same in Private Medical Colleges range from Rs 10 lakh  to Rs 25 lakh per year )

B )   How can the “ Exam System “ be made “ un-leakable / automatic ( without human intervention )

       / un-biased / non-discretionary / fair / equitable / instantaneous / transparent “ ?

Answers :

A )  Even a determined government will find it extremely difficult to raise the number of seats

      from 1.1 lakh to ( say ) 2.2 lakh in next 5 years

      This is like doubling the number of medical colleges from current 700 to 1400 – like putting up

      12 new college EVERY MONTH

I don’t think government has the resources. Even if it has, it will still leave out 10 lakh aspirants !

The only solution is :

Ø  Launch a massive program for imparting SKILLS to these millions , after 12th Standard

Ø  Place into their hands, TOOLS ( free ) to become Self Employed   

B )  Changing the current Exam System is relatively easy and the only way out to prevent the

      malpractices

      NEET should be renamed COMET ( Computerised Online Medical Entrance Test ), more or less

     along my suggestion in following earlier e-mail :

Ø  Cheating in Exams : is only a Symptom ……………. 10 Mar 2024

    Extract :

     An independent Central Authority called CECB – Central Exam Conduct Board – for ALL govt jobs ( State + Central ) 

Ø  For each type of JOB / VACANCY , this authority will create a DATA-BANK of exam questions ( obviously , running into THOUSANDS of questions for each exam )

Ø  Questions will be categorized as per “ DEGREE of DIFFICULTY “ ( like in Olympic games )

Ø  Each “ Degree of Difficulty “ will have a PRE-DETERMINED “ weightage marks 

Ø  Artificial Intelligence ( AI ) will generate( using RANDOM NUMBER tables ),  millions of UNIQUE question papers ON THE FLY , a few seconds before start of an exam and SERVE these to the computer screen in front of each student taking that exam. Of course, the total marks ( for entire question paper ) for ALL those UNIQUE exam papers , will always add up to 100. To make the process “ cheating proof “, only one question will get displayed on computer screen , AT A TIME. Only when the examinee clicks “ NEXT “ , will the next question appear on the screen

Ø  Student Identity will be verified by FACIAL RECOGNITION through a Computer Camera

Ø  At the end of exam time ( 3 hours ) , students will need to click SUBMIT ( no early click ). If examinee fails to click SUBMIT at the end of 3 hours , screen will turn black AUTOMATICALLY

Ø  This will generate the EVALUATION SCORE ( Exam Assessment Result ) and transmit to the mobile phone of each concerned student ( of course , no mobile allowed in Exam Hall )

 I believe, what I am suggesting here is nothing “ First Time “ . I believe other countries have successfully implemented this earlier

Given a challenge, our tech guys can implement this in 6 months. What is missing is Political Will

Dear Shri Narendrabhai ,

Let Shri Rahulji promise the voters, a LAW to prevent cheating in exams / leaking of exam papers

As far as NDA govt is concerned, I urge you to include my suggestion in your 100 DAYS  ROAD-MAP

 =============================================================

Dear

Shri Dharmendra Pradhanji….. ( minister.sm@gov.in )

Dr. Sukanta Majumdarji ………..( mosedu-sm@gov.in )

Shri Jayant Chaudharyji……….  ( mosedu-jc@gov.in )

 ===================================

In case , you wish to cut down on the cost 24 lakh computers ( even a laptop would cost around Rs 30,000 ), distributed over those 4700 exam centres , you could ask Apple / Samsung / Foxconn or any other Smart phone manufacturer , to develop a small ( tablet size ) special purpose DEVICE , costing about Rs 5,000 ( much like our EVM , which cost about Rs 8,000 )

Exam candidates will need to register 3 months in advance ( using facial recognition id )  and be issued a USN ( Unique Student Number ) – Centre Location Data -  Seat No etc . These details shall remain valid only for that exam

At the  entrance door of the Exam Hall , there will be admission based on confirmation ( genuine applicant ) based on a “ Facial Recognition and Database Match “ device

Same process will be repeated when the applicant occupies his / her SEAT and switches on the Special Purpose Device lying on the table

For the purpose of simplification ( and to avoid endless allegations / litigations ), I suggest , instead of delivering to each candidate, some UNIQUE SET of 180 ( computer generated ) questions, COMET should deliver the SAME / IDENTICAL set ( of course , random generation by AI software ) to all 24 lakh applicants

 

With regards,

Hemen Parekh

www.HemenParekh.ai  /  14 June 2024

 

Related Readings :

Ø  Exam Malpractices ? No More !  ………………………… 19  Oct  2019

Ø  National Recruitment Agency ( NRA ) ……………….  02 Feb 2020

 Turkish student arrested for using AI to cheat in university exam  .. Reuters … 11 June 2024

Extract :

Turkish authorities have arrested a student for cheating during a university entrance exam by using a makeshift device linked to artificial intelligence software to answer questions.

The student was spotted behaving in a suspicious way during the exam at the weekend and was detained by police, before being formally arrested and sent to jail pending trial.

Another person, who was helping the student, was also detained.

A video released by police in the southwestern province of Isparta showed how the student used a camera disguised as a shirt button linked to artificial intelligence software via a router hidden in the sole of the person's shoe.

A police officer in the video scans a question to show how the system works, with the AI software generating the correct answer, which is recited through an earpiece.

 

 

 

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