Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government on Wednesday (June 3) alleged that the Centre acted carelessly with regard to the conduct of the NEET exams and
the new CBSE marking scheme. The state government also said that it cannot intervene in these issues as they come under the central entities. The state government said that it has written to the Centre seeking a resolution of these issues and will also provide all legal aid or support to those wanting to pursue legal remedies in connection with these issues. State General Education Minister N Samsudheen said that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET-UG) for admission to undergraduate medical education is held by the National Testing Agency, which comes under the central government. Similarly, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), which introduced the new controversial system of online marking of answer sheets, came under the Union Ministry of Education, he said. "Therefore, we cannot intervene in the NEET question paper leak issue or the problems associated with the online marking system of the CBSE even though we are of the view that the central government has acted carelessly in these matters, which affect the future of lakhs of students in the state," the minister said. He was responding to CPI MLA G R Anil's calling attention motion seeking a solution to the problems faced by students in Kerala due to the alleged actions of the central agencies. The LDF MLA also accused the CBSE of incompetence in the evaluation and re-evaluation of its examination papers. He said that the paper leak was a clear example of how a system has completely broken down. Even Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan spoke about the issue in the House, saying the parents and students were viewing the NEET and CBSE issues with concern and asked the minister to convey to the Centre the views of the Assembly. Samsudheen said that the state government agrees with the contentions made by Anil, but it cannot interfere in them as "there are limits to our interventions". However, the state was ready to provide all legal aid or support to those wanting to pursue legal remedies against the CBSE or NTA in connection with the two issues, the minister said.
