THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid the controversies surrounding the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the NEET examination, the flawless execution of the Kerala Engineering, Architecture and Medical Examination (KEAM) 2024 underscores the efficacy of leak-proof computer-based testing.
This year, the Commissioner for Entrance Examinations (CEE) conducted KEAM entirely online, leveraging the technical expertise of the Centre for Development of Imaging Technology (CDIT). Similar in format to NEET UG, the examination involved 1,13,447 applicants across nearly 200 centres in the biggest such test conducted so far. It is worth noting that there have been no allegations of question paper leak or malpractice so far as students who have cleared KEAM are looking for admissions to various colleges.
CDIT, an autonomous body under the Department of Electronics and IT, is giving a tough competition to well-established software companies involved in computer-based tests.
“CDIT could provide seats to all aspirants unlike in the case of NEET where the students who fail to get a centre in Kerala have to look for centres outside the state. This is the first time a statewide government entrance exam has been conducted online with such comprehensive technical infrastructure,” said an official with CDIT.
In contrast, NTA’s NEET UG used approximately 9,000 computer nodes, whereas CDIT managed 20,000 computers across 130 institutions for six sessions in Kerala from June 5 to 10. Additional centres were set up in Delhi, Mumbai, and Dubai.
In Kerala, only the Public Service Commission (PSC) and large IT service providers like TCS conduct computer-based tests. PSC conducts exams in secure environments at its centres. For KEAM, CDIT relied on systems from both government and private institutions, developing custom software with stringent safety protocols to safeguard exam integrity and prevent tampering.
The question set is chosen by the entrance commissioner a day before the exam and stored encrypted at the data centre. These questions are downloaded 15 minutes before the exam at a local computer in the exam centre. Once the questions are downloaded, the laptop is disconnected from the internet and is connected only to the computers of students in the hall. The question paper is decrypted and displayed on the screen in front of the students. Once the answers are marked, it is stored in the data centre through the main laptop at the exam centre, the official said.
“To prevent tampering or other security issues, we used a technology called remote booting to enhance the security of the CDIT-Computer Based Exam software. The computers at the students’ end are connected only to the laptops at the exam centre. The students cannot close or tamper with the screen because of our custom-made open-source operating system,” the official pointed out.
To enhance safety, the CDIT staff collected the IDs of around 25,000 machines used for the exam. The remote booting software allowed only those machines registered. Since the exams are conducted in different sessions, the CEE-appointed expert committee normalised the results using a formula approved by NTA. In the previous years, CEE conducted KEAM on OMR sheets.
Over one lakh students from Kerala applied for both NEET UG and KEAM. At the national level, there were 23.8 lakh applicants for NEET. Over 79,000 students appeared for KEAM in Kerala.
CEE used to conduct entrance tests for medical admissions too. After the NEET imbroglio, several states have been demanding the Centre to revert back to the state-based entrance tests.