A parliamentary panel has called for a sweeping overhaul of the National Testing Agency, saying the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 despite upgraded security exposed deep structural weaknesses in how India's biggest examinations are run.
A report with 35 recommendations
The department-related parliamentary standing committee on education, chaired by Rajya Sabha member Mukul Wasnik, presented its 382nd report on Friday, October 9, titled "Reforms and Strengthening of the National Testing Agency". The report carries 35 observations and recommendations aimed at rebuilding public trust in the country's largest examination body.
The immediate trigger was the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026, held on May 3 and called off on May 12 amid allegations of a paper leak, before being conducted afresh. The cancellation came despite biometric checks, mobile jammers and AI-monitored CCTV, the Times of India reported.
The panel said the cancellation despite strengthened safeguards demonstrated the need for "greater procedural and institutional reforms" — security upgrades alone, it argued, cannot safeguard examinations.
What the committee wants
Among its key recommendations: a phased shift of NEET-UG to computer-based testing, secure question banks, investment of the NTA's accumulated surplus in government-run test centres, and an independent mechanism to audit examination security and investigate candidates' grievances that would report directly to the education ministry.
The committee also sought a legislative framework to ensure the NTA's accountability to Parliament, observing that trust in the agency's examinations was "a matter of social justice and national integrity", PTI reported. It questioned the NTA's legal status as a registered society, noting that it does not lay its annual report before Parliament and faces less scrutiny than a statutory body.
Staffing gaps and transparency
The report flagged a 41 per cent staff shortfall — 16 of the NTA's 39 sanctioned posts lie vacant, with existing positions filled through deputation. It recommended permanent recruitment of experts in psychometrics, examination security, technology and logistics, and discouraged appointing the director general as an additional charge.
Private examination centres have "often proved to be a weak link" in examination security, the panel observed, calling for government-owned centres, logistics brought in-house, and a national registry of blacklisted vendors. On transparency, it recommended UPSC-style disclosure of NEET results and an official public record of paper leaks, FIRs and investigations.
Notably, the education ministry told the panel that no paper leak had occurred in an NTA examination between 2017 and 2025 — an assertion the report said was "at variance with the opinion of some Members of the Committee". The NTA conducts examinations for around 1.2 crore candidates annually, and its 2024-25 annual report recorded 474 court cases, 356 of them concerning NEET-UG 2024.
Sources: The Times of India, ThePrint (PTI), The Economic Times
A report with 35 recommendations
The department-related parliamentary standing committee on education, chaired by Rajya Sabha member Mukul Wasnik, presented its 382nd report on Friday, October 9, titled "Reforms and Strengthening of the National Testing Agency". The report carries 35 observations and recommendations aimed at rebuilding public trust in the country's largest examination body.
The immediate trigger was the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026, held on May 3 and called off on May 12 amid allegations of a paper leak, before being conducted afresh. The cancellation came despite biometric checks, mobile jammers and AI-monitored CCTV, the Times of India reported.
The panel said the cancellation despite strengthened safeguards demonstrated the need for "greater procedural and institutional reforms" — security upgrades alone, it argued, cannot safeguard examinations.
What the committee wants
Among its key recommendations: a phased shift of NEET-UG to computer-based testing, secure question banks, investment of the NTA's accumulated surplus in government-run test centres, and an independent mechanism to audit examination security and investigate candidates' grievances that would report directly to the education ministry.
The committee also sought a legislative framework to ensure the NTA's accountability to Parliament, observing that trust in the agency's examinations was "a matter of social justice and national integrity", PTI reported. It questioned the NTA's legal status as a registered society, noting that it does not lay its annual report before Parliament and faces less scrutiny than a statutory body.
Staffing gaps and transparency
The report flagged a 41 per cent staff shortfall — 16 of the NTA's 39 sanctioned posts lie vacant, with existing positions filled through deputation. It recommended permanent recruitment of experts in psychometrics, examination security, technology and logistics, and discouraged appointing the director general as an additional charge.
Private examination centres have "often proved to be a weak link" in examination security, the panel observed, calling for government-owned centres, logistics brought in-house, and a national registry of blacklisted vendors. On transparency, it recommended UPSC-style disclosure of NEET results and an official public record of paper leaks, FIRs and investigations.
Notably, the education ministry told the panel that no paper leak had occurred in an NTA examination between 2017 and 2025 — an assertion the report said was "at variance with the opinion of some Members of the Committee". The NTA conducts examinations for around 1.2 crore candidates annually, and its 2024-25 annual report recorded 474 court cases, 356 of them concerning NEET-UG 2024.
Sources: The Times of India, ThePrint (PTI), The Economic Times
