THE Education sector has been experiencing a series of shocks with massive irregularities, bunglings and administrative improprieties resulting in distressing outcomes for students who have burnt the midnight oil to prepare for these examinations.

The leak of the NEET exam papers not only casts a shadow on the integrity of the National Testing Agency but also exposed the ineptness of the Education Ministry that's duty-bound to guide and oversee matters in better ways and plug loopholes. This was followed by the glaring system flaws in the CBSE examination process involving the Class XII On-Screen Marking system (OSM). The technical glitches, evaluation discrepancies and post-result verification snags were unprecedented. Data integrity and the strengths of the digital evaluation process remain suspect. The entire education system now bears the brunt. That Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has accepted the moral responsibility for what went wrong is in itself small comfort. The NEET leak turned the dreams of some 18 lakh students sour. Their hard work, sweat and tears while preparing for the tests ended up in deep disappointment. This was followed by the CBSE exam mess-up, which also affected lakhs of students. The repeated glitches have caused immense distress for both students and their parents.
Notably, the education sector did not get the attention that's due to it under the Modi government, other than re-christening the department into 'Education' instead of 'Human Resources' or introduction of some marginal reforms. What was needed for this sector was a total overhaul. The government just could not rise up to the emerging challenges. Under Modi, the first minister in charge of Education was Smriti Irani, who was not even a graduate. Incumbent Dharmendra Pradhan is a run-of-the mill politician. Several ministers in the Modi dispensation are faceless figures. Governance in the 21st century cannot be conducted on the lines that India started its journey straight after Independence under 'Desi' rule eight decades ago. Unfortunately, the politicians who run governments are still cast in the old mould. Expertise in respective sectors has not been given any importance. Add to this the allegations about "favouritism" on the part of Pradhan in the selection of the agencies to oversee the technical aspects of the exam process.
The result of such drift in the administrative mechanisms is also that India fails to project an image of academic excellence. It's rare that any higher education institution here finds a place in the global lists of top 100 universities. Fewer students come to India for studies than the number of youths going out for education elsewhere. Proper governance of a nation does not limit itself to the erection of highways as the Modi government keeps boasting of. The big talk about India's economic super power status has come to naught as its placement in terms of GDP ratings and currency value has fallen from the fourth place to the sixth in view of the several global uncertainties. For most people, life remains stagnant. Things fail to change or reform. The hits that the education sector took will take a long time to heal. The responsibility must be fixed, and both corrective and punitive steps should follow.