On Foregrounding the Backdrops

New Format for NET Exam: Some Objective Thoughts

A curious move made by the University Grants Commission recently is the decision to change the format of the UGC / CSIR-NET to a completely objective/  Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) format. Till now, the test followed a format in which both Multiple Choice questions and descriptive ones were used, with wise emphasis on descriptive questions. From this June 2012 onwards, there will be no more descriptive type questions in the new format NET exam and the overall marking will be based purely on the objective / multiple choice kinds of questions. The move has raised many an eye brow and it is not only the language and literature departments which are keen to know the rationale for this kind of a change.

The CSIR / NET examinations are held twice a year to certify postgraduates who can move to teaching / research. The National Educational Testing Bureau of University Grants Commission (UGC) conducts National Eligibility Test (NET) to determine eligibility for lectureship and for award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) for Indian nationals. This helps ensure minimum standards for the entrants in the teaching profession and research in universities and colleges and in the country.  The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) conducts the UGC-CSIR NET for other Science subjects:  Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and Earth Atmospheric Ocean & Planetary Sciences jointly with the UGC. The NET tests are conducted twice in a year. For candidates who desire to pursue research, the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) is offered.

 The Introduction of National Eligibility Test (NET) by UGC in 1989 was a forward-looking move on the part of the higher body and it had won a lot of appreciation since then not just from the academic community around but from those who wish well for the future of the young generations.  The NET has seriously attempted to cure the era of academic mediocrity in higher education when an ordinary second class Postgraduate degree holder can end up as a teacher in a college or university. The Human Resources Ministry clearly put an intellectual price on teaching positions across the country, even though a number of states came up with their own state level tests (SET), declaring equivalence with the NET. The move brought in lots of quality and increased the accountability of the profession. In states where the position of an assistant lectures was bought with clout and currency, NET has been functioning as the check that keeps the chaff away.

A basic of testing is that it is important to know what to check and how to check it and also to what end are the skills or knowledge checked. In the case of NET, the skills and the knowledge evaluated are the skills and awareness in subject to lead the learners at the college / university level. She /  he is expected to have the requisite level of scholarship, depth in reading, general awareness, a distinct outlook and, more than anything, an attitude that makes him compatible to get along with the rigours of academics. It is easy to conclude that even the earlier NET system of testing which used a mixture of objective and descriptive won’t serve the above mentioned purposes.

The authorities have stated that the NET as it exists needs to be fine tuned as a number of lacunae have been identified. The prime one being that the NET examination can never test the ability of the test taker in terms of teaching skills. Time and again one comes across postgraduates who have heads like rockets and scores that flirt with the perfect ten of the gymnastics, but fail in delivering what’s inside their heads in an effective and interesting manner. We can’t expect even the Old NET to catch these. The second series issue is said to be the delay in evaluation and declaration of results. Indeed a serious problem since the delay often forced the same candidates to appear for the exam second time as they were not sure whether they have cleared the test. UGC seems to have ultimately taken the delay factor so seriously that, ignoring the root purpose of the Eligibility test, they have put the time factor at the top. This for sure is a case of losing the sense of priorities. Can the teeth of a wheel be fully done way with so as to speed up production when the process of production itself rides on the presence of teeth? But an effort to revamp a system by weeding out the ineffective tools now threatens to lead to the promotion of the same!

Multiple choice questions are never recommended as an effective way to test the actual depth of a test taker in any field. There is no denying that a well developed set of multiple choice questions can be as effective in testing as the descriptive ones are. But it is very time consuming a process and is rarely come across. Objective type questions help check a recall of facts and figures.  There are not meant to test a wide suite of knowledges. Only restricted types of knowledge can be analysed with multiple choice questions. The objective mode of questions can only test the lower order skills. This mode may be suitable to test a large number of students in a short period of time, which is highlighted by the UGC too. The only factor which seemed to have been taken into consideration while switching to the multiple question mode seems to be this one.

An important handicap of using only objective mode to test the competence of those who aspire to take up teaching in the higher education is that their writing skills are never evaluated. For a teacher of a college it is important to possess healthy writing skills, whatever is the discipline. This is all the more significant when the area is languages and literature. How could a person be chosen as fit to teach a language in a College / University without being able to communicate clearly what’s on his  /  her mind? Is it not true that the NET in the current mode with zero emphasis on writing skills further erode the language capability of the teachers and in the short run, the learners too?  A career which is so clearly and strongly related to scholarship and researches calls for no test in strength and clarity of expression, sequencing of ideas and lucidity of thoughts? If we completely replace a multi-mode assessment strategy with multiple choice questions comprising simple knowledge-based questions in subjects where application and writing skills are required, it will not allow adequate assessment of the required achievement.

The system of NET examinations cried for changes for sure. But the changes which are needed are far from finding refuge in quick-fix solutions which fixes nothing serious and will only quicken the minimal staleness that has seeped in. Some quick rethinking on the part of the National Education Testing Bureau can sure fix the issue as the body had set the benchmark with the introduction of the test in the first place.