Security Theatre |
The unprecedented security surrounding the re-conducted NEET-UG examination may ultimately be remembered for what it revealed rather than what it prevented. Metal detectors, biometric verification, signal jammers, surveillance cameras, police deployments and even military-assisted logistics projected an image of a state determined to protect the integrity of a crucial national examination. Yet the very scale of these precautions raises a more uncomfortable question: why has India’s education system reached a point where an entrance test must be conducted like a high-security operation? The answer lies in a growing mismatch between administrative capability and public expectations.
Competitive examinations have become among the most consequential institutions in modern India. For millions of young people, especially those from middle-class and lower-middle-class families, examinations are not merely assessments of knowledge. They are gateways to economic mobility, professional status and social advancement. In a country where opportunities remain scarce relative to aspirations, faith in the fairness of these gateways is........