High-stakes entry examinations for higher education are common worldwide. Recent testing scandals have brought some of the problems related to these tests to the global spotlight. The ubiquitous Chinese gaokao university entrance test is well known, but India’s plethora of tests for entry into many academic institutions and jobs is also important. Recent testing scandals have created problems in India and beyond.

The latest Indian exam scandal reminds us of the centrality of examinations in many aspects of Indian life. Of two recent scandals, the first relates to the National Eligibility/Entrance Test (NEET), conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for admission to medical programs, and the second relates to the University Grants Commission’s National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET), which determines eligibility for university and college teaching positions, as well as junior research fellowships. Both scandals have significantly eroded public confidence in the integrity of the examination system in the country. These incidents are not the first, nor are they likely to be the last. In particular, given the new era of artificial intelligence (AI), careful attention will need to be given to the entire examination structure, in India and globally.

Lessons from Different Countries

India may be the most examination-ridden country in the world, although it is certainly not the only one. There seems to be an exam for almost everything, from qualifying for the permanent government job of office attendant to entering the exalted ranks of the Indian administrative service—and almost everything in between. It is possible that more people take national and regional examinations in India than anywhere else in the world, although China may beat India in this regard (in 2024, 13,042,000 individuals took the gaokao, the national university entrance exam in China, and 90 percent of the test takers went on to higher education). The impact is so intensive that the craze for preparing for examinations extends well beyond educational institutions, fostering the growth of a parallel system of learning across the country often termed “shadow education.”

This article provides a glance at the global examination landscape, at some recent scandals, and at some of the debates going on concerning high-stakes exams. Much of the world uses some kind of high-stakes national examinations system to determine who can proceed to postsecondary education, and to allocate access to the limited number of places in high-prestige universities.

China’s gaokao is a national examination, administered by the ministry of education. It is required for entry to all public universities, and the requirements to gain admission to the top universities such as Tsinghua University and Peking University are extraordinarily high, similar to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). Also like India’s “reservation policies,” extra marks are given for students from poor backgrounds, from distant provinces, and from some ethnic minorities, although these have been deemphasized recently. The traditional means of selecting students for university entry in most European countries is some kind of state examination given at the end or sometime during secondary school: in France the baccalaureate, in Germany the abitur, in Russia the Unified State Examination, and others. In most cases, exam scores determine the kind of postsecondary institution that can be entered. Similar high-stakes exams are common in countries such as Brazil, Japan, and South Korea, where cram schools and extracurricular coaching—which are very stressful for students and often expensive for families—are common. Such cramming has been recognized as a serious problem in China, and the government has placed restrictions on cram schools and similar programs—with limited success. High-stakes examinations in many countries determine the educational futures—and thus often the life chances—of young people in much of the world.

The Indian Landscape

India is an extreme case because of the ubiquity of examinations and their importance for the life chances and careers of young people. For students from marginalized backgrounds, national and regional exams are the primary means to achieve upward mobility through admission to prestigious higher education institutions and securing government jobs.

Indian exams may be the most competitive in the world. In 2024, a total of 180,200 students took both parts of the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) Advanced exam, which is known for being one of the toughest engineering entrance exams in India. This exam is the second qualifying exam held every year for admissions to undergraduate programs at the IITs and a few other top institutions. Despite the large number of applicants, the 23 IITs together offered only 17,740 seats this year. This underlines the significance of the current cheating scandal.

The trend of exam coaching centers in India, especially those associated with schools and colleges, has experienced significant growth in recent years. Not only is cramming common, but entire towns, such as Kota in the state of Rajasthan, are devoted to the industry. An interesting related development is the emergence of numerous coaching hubs across various states as a response to the increasing demand for competitive exam preparation. Notable examples of these new coaching hotspots include Rajkot in the state of Gujarat and Namakkal in Tamil Nadu. They are popular for IIT-JEE, NEET, CAT, GMAT, GRE, GATE, Union Public Service Commission, State Public Service Commissions, and banking exams. As this phenomenon continues to expand, it reshapes the educational landscape of many other smaller cities and towns. The sector’s potential has attracted global investors, as evidenced by United States–based private-equity firm Blackstone’s involvement in Akash Education Services, and South Korean company Etoos’ entry into the Indian market. Unacademy company has attracted investment from SoftBank Vision Fund, Facebook, and General Atlantic. However, the increasing commercialization of education through coaching centers raises many concerns about equity, accessibility, and related issues.

India is also unique because of the complexity of both the exams and their evaluation. Some universities have rules regarding “grace marks,” for a range of oftentimes rather opaque reasons. Students from historically disadvantaged sections of society, economically disadvantaged groups, persons with disabilities, and those from some religious minority backgrounds have places reserved for them in educational institutions and jobs.

The intense pressure to perform well in highly competitive exams like IIT-JEE, NEET, and others has severe implications for the mental health of students in India. This pressure, compounded by societal expectations, parental aspirations, and a rigid coaching culture, has led to alarmingly high rates of student suicides. Nowhere is this more evident than in Kota, which is known as India’s “coaching capital.”

Keeping Fairness in Focus

Test scandals and disruptions are not, of course, limited to India. A few examples illustrate this. In July, some 2,000 students who sat for the American-sponsored Advanced Placement exams in China had their results canceled due to “alleged misconduct.” Even the highly respected International Baccalaureate (IB) acknowledged some cheating on recent exams. The Educational Testing Service in the United States, which administers English competency exams worldwide, found that 97 percent of test takers in the United Kingdom had cheated, and 35,000 visas of international students were canceled between 2011 and 2014. In India, Delhi police caught a gang that hacked the GMAT online exam and manipulated scores. The list goes on.

What does all this mean? It is not surprising that exam cheating takes place because the stakes are so high. What is perhaps more surprising is that in India and elsewhere, most exams systems work reasonably well, and widespread cheating is fairly limited. However, greater attention is needed in the future to ensure fairness and efficiency when conducting entrance exams for large numbers of candidates. This is particularly crucial when using computer-based testing (CBT) and emerging AI-driven methods. While these technologies can be leveraged to streamline exam administration, their implementation poses significant challenges in a country like India, especially with regard to the accessibility and reliability of technology, as well as data privacy. Therefore, a comprehensive strategy is required to effectively leverage technology in examinations while safeguarding exam integrity and fairness.

Philip G. Altbach is professor emeritus and distinguished fellow at the Center for International Higher Education at Boston College, United States. E-mail: [email protected].

Eldho Mathews is program officer (Internationalization of Higher Education) at the Kerala State Higher Education Council, India. E-mail: [email protected].