A parliamentary committee on Tuesday asked the Center to publish a “time-bound roadmap” for implementing the recommendations of the High-Level Committee on Education (HLCE) on examination reforms, saying irregularities continue despite the establishment of a monitoring mechanism following controversies related to the National Eligibility for Undergraduate Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2024.
In a report submitted to Parliament on Tuesday, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, said paper-related irregularities continue to lead to cancellation of examinations and cause anxiety among students.
It recommended that the Ministry of Education “publish a time-bound implementation roadmap” for the HEC recommendations “as soon as possible.”
The ministry established the HLCE following controversies surrounding NEET-UG 2024. The committee submitted its report in October 2024, recommending reforms in the National Entrance Test, strengthening of the National Testing Agency (NTA), and greater coordination with states and cross examinations.
A high-level steering committee headed by former ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan was subsequently constituted to oversee the implementation.
The committee noted that “despite these measures, paper violations still occur.”
NEET-UG 2026 held on May 3 was canceled on May 12 following allegations of paper leakage, including alleged overlaps between the previously distributed guess paper and the actual paper. More than 2.27 million candidates have appeared for the May 3 examination. The re-examination is scheduled for June 21.
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The commission also pulled up the Ministry of Higher Education over the delay in publishing the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE). While the ministry informed the committee that data collection for AISHE 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 has been completed and the reports will be released together, the committee said publishing three years’ data simultaneously “contradicts the purpose of the annual survey”.
She reiterated her demand for student-level data collection and called for a fixed annual timeline for rollout of AISHE, saying delays undermine evidence-based policy making, especially in monitoring SC/ST/OBC/EWS enrollment.
The committee also expressed its dissatisfaction with the government’s response to the Central Advisory Board for Education (CABE), the apex advisory body for education, noting that no meeting has been held since 2019.
She described the ministry’s response as lacking “specificity” and requested a comprehensive response.
Separately, the committee noted the slow progress of the Highness Institute scheme launched in 2017, noting that only 12 of the 20 institutions set out in the scheme had been notified nearly eight years after its launch.
It also questioned the exclusion of leading institutions in social sciences and humanities, including Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), from the scheme.
