It is intriguing that various authorities responsible for conducting professional entrance examinations are consistently proving to be ‘incompetent’ or ‘corrupt’ as discrepancies have been witnessed all across the country with J&K being no exception. The major examinations that saw the paper leaks or were cancelled on account of improper handling include NEET-UG 2024, UGC-NET 2024, UP Police Constable Recruitment Exam 2024, and most recently, NEET-UG 2026. Besides, there is also a major controversy regarding checking of answer sheets of CBSE 12th class examination as students have alleged large-scale mismanagement in the newly introduced On-Screen Marking (OSM) system.
As people across the country were wondering about inconsistencies in the exam patterns, there came another report from J&K, about the cancellation of one more entrance exam. Reportedly, the Jammu and Kashmir Board of Professional Entrance Examinations (JKBOPEE) has cancelled the M.Sc Nursing Entrance Examination due to a glitch that surfaced minutes before the start of the examination. This is the height of non-seriousness and may also point to corruption because one gaffe after another has been coming to the fore from different parts of the country including the UT of J&K with regard to entrance examinations for professional courses, selections in interviews, and even the school board exams giving sleepless nights to aspirants and their families.
What is more agonizing is the fact that governments have taken only nominal action in a few cases, often punishing scapegoats, which is unacceptable. Although, the people at the helm have given the task to top investigating agencies to probe these cases of irregularities in the conduct of exams, the conviction rate is abysmal indicating lacunae and will to end such malpractices ruining the future of the youth. In the latest case from J&K, no doubt the JKBOPEE Chairperson has assured inquiry and action against the wrongdoers but looking at the fate of other cases, the chances of the culprits facing any action seem bleak. Reportedly, JKBOPEE has decided to cancel the examination in order to safeguard the integrity of the evaluation process and the merit list but what goes unanswered is why such a loophole has been allowed and why proper care was not taken beforehand?
Who will be responsible for the inconvenience, financial loss, and mental harassment caused to aspiring candidates? Looking at frequent cases of such nature, one can say that the examination system across the country including the UT of J&K has become deeply rotten from within, and there is an urgent need to overhaul it completely or else the future of the next generation will become dark and directionless as this system is bound to support the corrupt and blue-eyed candidates as evidenced by the repeated breaches of examinations by those pulling the strings behind the scenes.
