In this episode of Frontline Conversations, Anita Rampal, Educationist and Former Dean, Faculty of Education, Delhi University, examines the NEET paper leak controversy, the growing power of the coaching industry, and the larger crisis surrounding India’s centralised entrance examination system.
She argues that NEET and the National Testing Agency (NTA) have transformed education into a high-pressure, deeply unequal system that privileges coaching, wealth, and social advantage over genuine understanding and aptitude. The discussion explores the emotional burden on students and families, the commercialisation of medical education, the rise of paper leak mafias, and the debate over online examinations.
The conversation also looks at why States like Tamil Nadu opposed NEET, how centralised testing affects federalism and school education, and whether India needs a complete overhaul of the way medical students are selected.