Paper Leaks, Errors Expose Need for Deep NTA Reform: Former UGC Chairman

The National Testing Agency (NTA) needs deep structural strengthening to address recurring examination-security concerns, but replacing the institution altogether may not be the most effective solution, former UGC Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar has said, calling for an end-to-end overhaul of India’s examination system.

Speaking to PTI, Kumar said recurring paper-leak concerns should be treated as an end-to-end examination-security challenge, given the scale and complexity of NTA-conducted examinations. The agency handles tests involving more than one crore candidates annually, with security depending on question experts, digital systems, printing, transportation, storage, examination centres, invigilators and service providers.

His remarks come amid continuing scrutiny following the NEET-UG paper-leak controversy and subsequent concerns over UGC-NET. The Centre has since initiated reforms, including a high-level task force headed by Nandan Nilekani, while the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, provides a legal framework against organised malpractice.

The concerns, however, extend beyond paper leaks. In JEE Main 2025, NTA dropped a record 12 questions from the final answer key because of errors. The latest UGC-NET controversy has further highlighted question-quality issues. NTA ordered re-tests in English, Commerce and Sociology after an internal inquiry found serious flaws. Reports also alleged that 67 questions in one affected paper were repeated from earlier examinations, alongside factual, typographical and translation errors.

These episodes underscore Kumar’s argument that examination integrity involves more than preventing leaks. Question-setting, translation, validation, answer keys, digital storage and examination delivery must all be subjected to rigorous checks.

The NTA has begun an expert-panel refresh involving around 600 experts and introduced four-tier scrutiny of question papers. Kumar described these as important corrective measures but said they must form part of wider institutional reform.

Infrastructure and vendor management are another critical component. NTA's contractual framework for computer-based examinations covers centres spread across India and requires technological and operational capabilities to support secure test delivery. Its tendering ecosystem has included requirements for backup connectivity, servers, networking, security, trained manpower and centre-level safeguards, underlining the agency’s dependence on a large network of service providers.

Kumar therefore called for stronger centre infrastructure, including CCTV monitoring, biometric verification, reliable power, connectivity, accessibility and trained personnel. Infrastructure, he said, must be continuously tested and upgraded as examination methods and security threats evolve.

He opposed creating multiple testing agencies merely to distribute NTA’s workload, arguing that a single national body can maintain uniform security standards, technology, candidate services and result procedures. Instead, ministries and institutions seeking examinations should handle syllabus, academic validation and subject expertise, while NTA focuses on secure examination delivery.

Kumar identified three immediate priorities: securing the complete examination lifecycle, developing permanent professional expertise and ensuring dependable examination centres. He called for encryption, restricted access, digital traceability and independent security testing.

He said NTA’s existing technology, institutional experience and nationwide centre network should be strengthened rather than discarded, with the long-term objective of transforming it into a “mission-critical professional institution.”