NTA reforms sought from Education Ministry
A parliamentary committee has expressed concern over continuing examination irregularities despite measures taken by the Government, and recommended that the Ministry of Education publish a time-bound roadmap for implementing reforms suggested by a high-level panel.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh, presented its 381st action taken report on the recommendations contained in the 364th report on Demands for Grants (2025-26) pertaining to the Department of Higher Education to Rajya Sabha Chairman CP Radhakrishnan on Tuesday.
The committee has endorsed Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s acknowledgement of June 16, 2024, that “a lot of improvement is needed in the NTA”. It is recommended that the National Testing Agency (NTA) expedite the implementation of the Radhakrishnan Committee’s recommendations.
The parliamentary committee also recommended that the department and the NTA conduct additional widespread consultations with all stakeholders to adopt a protocol for the “foolproof” administration of nationwide competitive examinations, the report said.
“The Committee notes the steps taken by the ministry, including the constitution of a high-powered steering committee headed by K Radhakrishnan to monitor the implementation of the recommendations of the high-level committee of experts (HLCE).
“However, despite these measures, the paper irregularities are still happening, leading to cancellation of examinations, thereby causing a lot of anxiety among students,” the report said.
“The Committee also recommends the department of higher education to publish a time-bound implementation roadmap for the HLCE recommendations at the earliest,” it added.
The HLCE was constituted by the Ministry of Education under the chairmanship of K Radhakrishnan, a former ISRO chairman, to implement critical systemic reforms in national competitive examinations conducted by the NTA.
The parliamentary panel noted that several firms involved in paper setting, administration, and correction have been blacklisted by one organisation/State Government, but this is not impeding their securing of contracts from other states or organisations.
“The Committee, therefore, recommends that the department compile a nationwide list of blacklisted firms so as to bring clarity in this regard,” the report said.
In its action taken reply, the higher education department said that the core activities of the NTA, including paper setting and correction, are not “outsourced”.
“The NTA maintains records of penalised vendors, including terminations, blacklisting, and contract cessations, and does not engage vendors that have been blacklisted by the NTA.
“The procurement process adopted by the NTA incorporates mandatory self-disclosure clauses regarding blacklisting of the bidder by any Government agency,” it said.
The committee also referred to the finances of the NTA and reiterated its recommendation that the agency’s surplus be utilised to strengthen its capabilities.
“The Committee notes that the NTA collected an estimated Rs 3,512.98 crore while it spent Rs 3,064.77 crore on the conduct of examinations,” netting a surplus of Rs 448 crore in the last six years.
“It recommends that this corpus be used to build the agency’s capabilities to conduct tests itself, or to strengthen regulatory and monitoring capabilities for its vendors,” the report said.
Responding to the recommendations, the higher education department said that NTA is a self-sustained organisation, which does not receive Government funding.
“At the beginning of the year, the NTA needs funds for booking centres, paying experts, software, and security, etc. The income and expenditure trend of the NTA shows that, on average, Rs 74.5 crore remains every year after incurring all expenses.
“The income remaining unspent in a financial year is utilised for preparatory activities for the next financial year. However, any surplus after budgeting for next year’s activities can be appropriately utilised,” it said.
