NEET, CBSE exam crisis: Kerala has written to the Centre, says Education Minister Samsudheen

N. Samsudheen Photo Credit: KK Mustafah

The Kerala government has written to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan expressing its concern over the NEET and CBSE exam crisis and seeking the Union government’s intervention in the matter, General Education Minister N. Samsudheen said.

He was responding to a Calling Attention in the Assembly on Wednesday by GR Anil, MLA, to find solutions to the problems faced by students in the state during examinations conducted by Union government agencies.

Mr. Samsudheen, replying on behalf of Higher Education Minister Roja M. John, said that the problem was indeed serious. The NEET exams were completely conducted by the NTA under the Union Government. The state government has only made the arrangements required by the NTA for the smooth conduct of the examinations. In order to coordinate with the central agencies, according to the government order of March 29 last year, a coordination committee was created at the state level. It included Sudhir K., former Director of Higher Education; Manoj Abraham, current director of Vigilance; Mohit Bharadwaj, Assistant Director, NTA; Arun S. Nair, Former Commissioner of Entrance Examinations; and Suchitra Pyrarelal.

On 10 April 2026, NTA held a meeting in connection with the NEET proceedings in which Mr. Sudhir represented the state. The chief secretary convened a meeting of nodal officers and district collectors on April 16 and 25 to discuss and review the measures taken by the state for NEET.

Since the NTA was responsible for the conduct of NEET, the state government was unable to take action on irregularities related to the examination. Since the evaluation of the CBSE answer script was also done by agencies under the Union government, here too the state government’s hands were tied, the minister said.

However, once the state government came to know about the irregularities in the CBSE Class XII evaluations, a letter was sent to Mr. Pradhan on May 25 requesting the Union government to intervene in the matter. He pointed out that the government has been trying to bring to the notice of the Union Ministry about the difficulties and detention of students in the state, Mr. Samsudheen said.

In his letter, Mr. Samsudheen urged that lapses in on-screen marking (OSM) of answer scripts be investigated, suspected grading errors be resolved, scanning and digital verification processes be technically audited, and a time-bound grievance redressal mechanism to suit students.

The minister assured the assembly that the state would continue to interfere with the assembly.

When Mr. Anil suggested that sending a letter to the Union government was “inadequate” and that there should be a discussion with the Union government on the issue, Mr. Samsudheen said he agreed with the MLA that the concerned authorities should have taken the students’ complaints more seriously. However, state interventions were limited. Any legal aid sought by the students would be provided by the government, he said.

Highlighting the students’ concerns, Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan said the concerns of the Kerala legislature should be conveyed to the Union government.

Published – 03 Jun 2026 15:07 IST