Will NEET 2021 be Conducted in Remote Proctored Mode?

Given the pandemic and uncertain situation across the country, NTA might consider conducting NEET 2021 in remote proctored mode. In this article of Shiksha, we have analysed the possibilities, advantages and difficulties of conducting NEET 2021 in a remote proctored mode.

Will NEET 2021 be conducted in Remote Proctored Mode?

With little more than a month left for NEET 2021 and still no information about the application process has led all eyes towards the National Testing Agency (NTA). While there have been several speculations going on among the aspirants and other stakeholders regarding the postponement of the exam, one of the speculations has been whether NEET 2021 will be conducted in remote proctored mode. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, conducting an exam across the country at hundreds of test centres is a humongous task. Although last year NTA had successfully conducted the exam across 155 cities of India, there might be a chance that NTA will consider the possibility of NEET 2021 in remote proctored mode.

Remote proctored testing refers to an online testing procedure wherein candidates have to appear for the test from their home or a preferred location. They have to take the test under the surveillance of the exam authorities. They will have to be connected to the Internet and keep their web cameras and microphone on throughout the duration of the test for monitoring purposes. They will have to adhere to a set of instructions that would be issued for them.

Advantages of Conducting NEET 2021 in Remote Proctored Mode

Let us first take a look at the advantages of conducting NEET in remote proctored mode.

No Physical Contact: Social distancing, or ensuring there is minimal physical proximity between two people have become the norms of our everyday life with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Managing over hundreds of candidates at a test centre is indeed difficult. With approximately 16 lakh test-takers in NEET, it would be a convenient and safe option for NTA to conduct the exam in remote proctored mode, wherein they would not have to tackle the physical and social distancing norms at the exam centres.

Higher Security to avoid malpractices: A remote proctored test is conducted after ensuring multiple layers of security checks. The exam has to be taken under constant monitoring of the invigilators. Candidates also need to display their photo identity cards in order to confirm that there is no fraudulent activities or malpractices involved during the test. In case the invigilators observe any suspicious activities, then such candidates will be immediately disqualified and barred from taking the test. Moreover, since the entire exam will be recorded, there would be ample proof for the exam authorities to substantiate their actions.

Accommodating more candidates without having to arrange for test centres: Conducting the exam in physical mode, from exam centres require massive arrangements. This gets more difficult during the pandemic situation. Unlike the pre-pandemic era, the capacity of accommodating candidates has significantly reduced. Hence, this has led to the requirement of increasing the number of test centres across the country. In such a scenario, if NEET is conducted in a remote proctored mode, then the issue of arranging a sufficient number of test centres can be managed with ease.

Candidates can take the test from their convenient location; Last but not least, if NEET is conducted in remote proctored mode, then it would provide much-required ease and convenience to the candidates. They can appear for the exam from their home or a location of their convenience provided they fulfil the system requirements of taking the test in remote proctored mode. They do not have to travel to the test centre and take the test alongside several candidates, which exposes them to the risk of contracting coronavirus. Moreover, in case some candidates are unwell or are under isolation, they can also appear for the test for a three-hour duration. Last year, NTA had conducted NEET in October for candidates who were affected by coronavirus during the actual NEET day.

Considering the above points, a remote proctored exam can be considered as a win-win situation for both exam authorities as well as test-takers. However, there are certain difficulties as well, which we would discuss in the next section.

Challenges of Conducting NEET 2021 in Remote Proctored Mode

Some of the challenges that might mar the possibility of conducting NEET 2021 in remote proctored mode.

Difficult to Manage over 15 lakh candidates online: Even though a remote proctored testing can provide much ease to test-takers, it would not be an easy task to monitor and manage over 15 lakh candidates online. This would require a large number of human resources in the form of invigilators, administrators and technical managers.

Requirement of huge IT infrastructure: Conducting such a large scale exam across India would require a huge Information Technology (IT) infrastructure. This not only requires a large amount of financial investment but knowledge and human resource investment as well. NTA would also have to assess the situation whether all candidates would be able to take the exam in this mode. With approximately a month left for the exam, it would be difficult to execute the plan of conducting NEET in a remote proctored mode, unless the plan is already in place.

Difficult for Candidates from Remote Locations: A large number of NEET aspirants belong to remote locations in India and they lack Internet and power connectivity. For such candidates, it would be a challenge to appear for the exam in remote proctored mode. To appear for the exam, they might have to travel to long-distance and then also, there is no assurance that they would be able to find suitable computer and internet connectivity that would fulfil the system requirements. In such a scenario, candidates would prefer the usual mode of conducting the exam.

Power or Internet shortage/failure during the exam: This factor can pose a major challenge to candidates. Although the exam authorities provide solutions for such situations, this kind of situation might hamper the process of taking the test or the concentration of candidates. If candidates do not have sufficient power backup or uninterrupted power supply (UPS) machine, or the power/internet does not restore on time, their candidature might get cancelled.

Maintaining Balance Between Remote Proctored Testing and Physical Testing

After assessing the advantages and challenges of conducting NEET in a remote proctored mode, it can be concluded that both remote proctored and physical mode of the exam has their pros and cons. Hence, NTA may consider curving out a balanced path. Some such solutions are as follows:

Conduct the test in both modes: In case NTA decides to conduct NEET 2021 in both physical as well as remote proctored mode so that candidates can opt for their preferred mode. In this way, NTA will also be able to divide the resources accordingly, without having to put extra effort into a single mode of testing.

Conduct NEET in a phased manner: If NEET is held in offline mode in test centres, NTA may consider conducting the exam in a phased manner, or over a window of multiple days and slots. This would avoid a congregation of a large number of test-takers on a single day of the test.

Although NTA had announced NEET 2021 to be conducted on August 1, the application process is yet to start. It is expected that the application process will begin in the fourth week of June or the first week of July. NTA is currently reviewing the COVID situation along with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and is expected to release the notification soon.

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