India, May 26 -- The Supreme Court's anguished observation about education authorities "failing to learn lessons" comes in the context of the recent National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) question leak and cancellation. An ongoing crackdown is targeting the network believed to be responsible for the leak, but this comes two years too late. The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the NEET, clearly failed to investigate the 2024 allegations of discrepancies and malpractice, which could likely have helped prevent the current fiasco.

However, the apex court's remonstrance applies to the general cohort of education regulators in India. Just days after the NEET episode, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)'s measure...