Members of Parliament on Wednesday proposed giving the National Testing Agency (NTA) statutory status through an Act of Parliament, saying the agency needs more powers, permanent staff and greater autonomy to conduct national admissions tests independently, people familiar with the development said.
This proposal was presented during a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports. NTA and Education Ministry officials briefed the MPs on the NEET-UG re-examination procedure on June 21 and the progress made on the reforms recommended by the high-level committee headed by former ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan.
According to people familiar with the discussions, Radhakrishnan also supported the proposal, while ministry and NTA officials told MPs that the proposal would be considered.
“Members said that conducting national-level entrance exams is almost as complex as conducting elections. NTA is currently just a society and does not have the legal powers, permanent manpower or accountability that such an institution should have. They suggested converting it into a statutory body, like UGC or AICTE, through legislation,” said one of the people cited above.
The proposal came after a presentation by agency officials on the comprehensive arrangements made for the rerun of the NEET-UG exam, which was held on June 21 after a question paper was allegedly leaked in the original May 3 exam.
The officials told MPs that the Cabinet Minister, Interior Minister and chief secretaries of state have coordinated preparations across ministries and states. Indian Air Force planes were used to transport question papers during the monsoon, and access to the Telegram messaging platform was blocked before the exam to prevent the circulation of leaked papers.
While MPs expressed appreciation for what officials described as a “whole-of-government approach”, they questioned whether such support would be available every year.
“The appreciation was accompanied by concern. Members wondered whether such an elaborate security arrangement would be available every year and whether the NTA, in its current form, had the capacity to manage it on its own,” another person familiar with the meeting said.
The committee also asked the agency to expedite implementation of the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee. Several MPs urged the NTA to introduce an upper age limit and limit the number of NEET-UG attempts.
“The meeting was very good and informative. The inputs we received during our deliberations will help the committee reach a conclusion… You will have to wait for our report,” committee chairman Mukul Wasnik said after the meeting.
