NTA sacks 50 after UGC-NET errors

The National Testing Agency (NTA) sacked 50 members of its staff on Monday, soon after a high-level meeting chaired by Union Minister for Education, Pralhad Joshi, with top officials from the education ministry, including the NTA officers.

The development came a day after the NTA ordered a re-test for three subjects in UGC-NET due to several errors in the examinations held between June 22 to June 30 for admissions to PhD in Indian universities, award of junior research fellowship and eligibility for assistant professors. The latest fiasco comes months of the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 for medical admissions over allegations of paper leak.

Last month, 47 NTA staff were axed following the NEET-UG paper leak, which led to massive student protests across the country, ultimately leading to resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as the Union education minister.

Sources said in the meeting Joshi was apprised of the steps taken by the agency in the wake of recent issues and reforming the overall exam system. “The minister was apprised about the steps taken by the NTA in the wake of recent issues, particularly with reference to reforming the overall system. He was apprised that more than 50 staff have been removed from the NTA,” the ministry said.

“Ten new professional leadership positions, including chief technology officer, chief finance officer, CISO, GM (test security) and GM (R and D and psychometrics), have been advertised and are being onboarded,” the ministry added.

Domain specialists are also being brought in from the private sector for cybersecurity, psychometrics, question-paper design and other specialised areas, it said.

The minister directed that strict compliance be ensured with the established exam protocols and also directed that a complete overhaul of the confidential operations (CONOPS) architecture, secluded rooms, air-gapped systems, and device deposit protocols be implemented on a war footing, the ministry said.

The NTA has been directed to conduct a thorough audit of all exam processes and submit a report on the corrective actions taken, the ministry said.