The Supreme Court on Monday asked the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences to explain its limited disclosure policy for NEET-PG answer keys. The bench said it was not satisfied with the board’s current stance. Justice Narasimha asked, “What happens to transparency?” and sought a formal written response soon.
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences (NBEMS) to explain why it allows only limited disclosure of answer keys for the NEET-PG examination, reporting by news agency Press Trust of India showed.
A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe said it was not satisfied with the board's policy and sought a written response explaining how allowing candidates to retain a copy of the question paper could compromise the examination's integrity.
“The National Board of Examinations in Medical Sciences shall file written submissions explaining why disclosure of questions may compromise the integrity for upholding the exams for postgraduate NEET,” the bench said in its order.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions raising several issues related to the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Postgraduate, including the disclosure of answer keys to ensure transparency.
During the hearing, NBEMS counsel said the question bank for the postgraduate examination was limited and was, therefore, a national asset, PTI reported.
One of the lawyers appearing in the matter told the court that previous years' NEET-PG question papers were readily available for sale on Amazon and questioned the board's reluctance to disclose the questions.
Justice Narasimha then asked: “What happens to transparency? You need much more explanation of what you are doing.”
“We are not fully satisfied. You will have to explain to us exactly why you stand on a different footing from any other examination,” he said.
NBEMS counsel told the bench that the number of questions was limited and experts from across the country helped prepare the question bank.
“They don't have copyright as it becomes a national asset. If we start disclosing the questions themselves, year after year, all our questions in the next five-six years will be quoted,” the lawyer said.
“This is a difficult paper... we don't want that they have a key,” the counsel added.
The Supreme Court has asked NBEMS to justify its policy and explain why greater disclosure of NEET-PG questions and answer keys would affect the integrity of the examination.