New Delhi, July 28 -- The resignation of India's education minister after the NEET paper leak protests has triggered a national conversation on educational reform. The immediate issue is exam integrity.

But the larger issue is whether India has the institutional capacity to build a higher education system that matches its national ambitions.

In a recent article, author and journalist Pallavi Aiyar describes India and China as "nations of the exam." In large, unequal societies, the competitive public examination is a ticket to a better life.

It is a promise that birth, wealth, caste, region and connections can be partially neutralized by effort. That is why a leak is a devastating breach of trust.

China's exam, the gaokao, taken this y...