Parliamentary Committee Demands NTA Roadmap to Fix Exam Irregularities

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, led by Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh, submitted an action-taken report to Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan flagging persistent irregularities in national examinations. The committee urged the Ministry of Education and the National Testing Agency (NTA) to publish a time-bound roadmap for implementing reforms recommended by a high-level committee of experts led by K. N. Radhakrishnan in October 2024. These reforms focus on entrance testing, data security, and agency structure following the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination and subsequent CBI investigations into paper leaks.

To prevent further lapses, the committee recommended establishing a nationwide blacklist of firms involved in exam processes to stop penalized vendors from securing contracts across different states. It also proposed that the NTA utilize a reported six-year surplus of 448 crore rupees to enhance its internal testing and regulatory capabilities. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan acknowledged that the NTA requires significant improvement.

In response, the Department of Higher Education stated that core functions such as paper setting are not outsourced and that the NTA is a self-sustained entity. The department clarified that the agency already maintains records of penalized vendors to prevent their engagement and uses its unspent funds for subsequent yearly preparatory activities.