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Parliament Panel Rebukes NTA, Urges Return to Pen-and-Paper Exams

The findings increase pressure on the education ministry to overhaul testing practices.

Overview

  • Lawmakers said repeated postponements, leaks and errors have eroded trust, citing five troubled NTA exams in 2024 and withdrawn questions in JEE Main 2025.
  • The committee backed a stronger shift to pen-and-paper tests and said any computer-based exams should run only at government or government-controlled centres, not private venues.
  • It urged deploying the NTA’s Rs 448 crore surplus to build in-house testing capacity or strengthen oversight of outsourced vendors.
  • The panel called for a nationwide blacklist to prevent firms flagged for irregularities from securing future exam contracts.
  • The report, tabled in Parliament, also sought an internal probe at NAAC in the KLEF bribery case and serves as recommendations awaiting government action.