In this episode of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna first discuss the NEET exam paper leak and the subsequent developments. In the second part of the discussions, the hosts discuss the austerity measures announced by PM Modi, including a ban on exports and judicious use of oil and gas.
In this episode of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna first discuss the NEET exam paper leak and the subsequent developments. They are joined by educationist and the founder of Career 360, Maheshwer Peri and TNM Associate Editor Nandini Chandrashekar.
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Dhanya starts the discussion by pointing out how the NEET exam paper leak is extremely disheartening for the lakhs of students who prepared for the test and have pinned their hopes on it.
“This impacts over two and a half million students. Those hoping to study abroad also now have no option but to submit an application without a score requirement. The exam may be re-conducted, and the results may be expedited, but the problem is about the integrity of the exam being compromised. But this happened earlier also, in 2024. If those issues had been addressed, this could have been prevented. The Radhakrishnan Committee report also should have been taken seriously, with respect to what went wrong,” says Maheshwer.
Pooja points out that the NTA has been taking the fall so that the blame will not go to the government. “When NEET was introduced in 2016, the argument was that there would be transparency. Do you think this exam should be done away with?”
“I am very disenchanted with the conduct of the exams. It takes away the power of several students who do not go to coaching classes,” explains Maheshwer. He also speaks about the urban-rural divide in disparity with respect to access to coaching. He further speaks about how the schooling system can be balanced in a way that the training in schools can benefit those students wanting to attempt NEET.
Nandini says that there is a lot of pressure on the coaching centres as well to bring in results. “Most centres are mercenary, the way they deal with the exam preps and students. The first question, of course, is money. Those who have the money to buy a management seat, do not need to put their children through the trauma of such rigorous coaching. Centres also have a segregation within themselves where the top few will have a different set of teachers and modules,” she points out.
The panel then goes into a solution to NEET exam paper leaks, maintaining credibility of the process, and how coaching and exams itself have become a large industry.
In the second part of the discussions, the hosts discuss the austerity measures announced by PM Modi, including a ban on exports and judicious use of oil and gas. They are joined by journalist and founder of India’s first data journalism initiative IndiaSpend, Govindraj Ethiraj.
Govindraj first explains the West Asia conflict, detailing how that has triggered the PM’s announcement. “We do not know when this will end, as of now. The point is that at least for two months now, we know that oil prices have shot up. Most of our imports in the last year have happened for much less than what we have to pay now. We have known for a while that this is going to create both financial and other problems,” he says.
He adds that consumption has to be cut down to match the reduced supply of oil in the world. “How we do that is the question. We can ration products, or ban all kinds of private vehicles and so on. The only thing that can work is an increase in prices to balance demand. This may not be fair or the best way, but this is what has been practiced worldover to balance prices and supply,” he further says.
Pooja says that this could have been done months ago, when the Union government pretended that there is no impending crisis. “Should the brunt always be passed on to people? What could the government have done differently?” she asks.
“Governments do what they think they are supposed to do. If we keep politics aside, it is clear that they should have acted much faster, and said that we are introducing measures to keep expenditures in check. We are apprehensive and anxious as a country, so when the PM suddenly makes these announcements, our intuitive reaction is to panic. I hope the government has learned a lesson not to create panic,” says Govindraj.
Speaking about how bad this can get for a citizen if the war does not end soon, Govindraj says that we may see more curbs on consumption. “Our economy is in a fairly decent shape. There is an external problem because of our dependence on exports, and we need to moderate it. The currency is also sinking. But that requires a different set of solutions. For a citizen, we must find ways to spend less on gold, travel, and petrol, definitely, for our own good,” he says.
The panel further discusses the probable hybrid or work-from-home model of functioning that the PM appealed, and other possible measures that may impact people’s lives if the tense situation in West Asia prolongs.
Tune in to this episode here
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