Structural reform must
NEW DELHI: As government informed Supreme Court that a high-powered committee has been formed for education reform, the court said Monday that some “out-of-box thinking” was needed to address problems faced by the sector, including the recurring problem of paper leaks.Appearing before a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, solicitor general Tushar Mehta told Supreme Court the PM has announced a high-powered task force headed by ex-executive chairperson of Infosys, Nandan Nilekani, to recommend structural reforms. The court was hearing a PIL seeking that the medical entrance be shifted to a computer-based test.Mehta told the bench that the court was scheduled to take up the NEET paper leak petition on Aug 3 and pleaded that this petition be tagged and heard with them.Deferring the hearing to August 3, the bench said govt needed to examine what additional safeguard was required to conduct the online exam and ensure data security.Amid protests by the youth against paper leaks and demands that govt fix accountability and bring reforms, Supreme Court on July 24 said the system’s ad hocism was “troubling”, which could not be allowed to go on, and assured that it would “tread the extra mile” to fix the problems and make NEET foolproof.”We are focusing on institutionalisation. This is the most important.” said the bench, adding that it will keep monitoring the process.
