"NTA Reform Task Force Treats Education Crisis as Technical Problem"
National Testing Agency (NTA)
Registered society under Dept. of Higher Education conducting NEET, JEE Main, CUET, UGC-NET.
K. Radhakrishnan Committee
Expert panel recommending statutory, UPSC-like NTA with 10 functional verticals and biometric testing framework.
India's education system operates under a layered constitutional and statutory framework. Article 21A, inserted by the 86th Constitutional Amendment, 2002, makes education a fundamental right for children aged 6–14, operationalised through the Right to Education Act, 2009. Because education sits on the Concurrent List (List III, Seventh Schedule), both Parliament and state legislatures hold legislative competence, creating a complex federal dynamic in policy implementation.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) was established in 2017 as an autonomous body under the Department of Higher Education to conduct entrance examinations — including NEET-UG, JEE Main, CUET, and UGC-NET — relieving individual institutions and the CBSE of this burden. The rationale was standardisation and efficiency. However, the NTA's institutional design was never anchored in a statutory framework; it functions as a registered society, lacking the independence, accountability mechanisms, and cadre depth of bodies like the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). This structural gap has repeatedly manifested as examination integrity failures, paper leaks, and opaque grievance redressal.
The National Education Policy 2020 marked a philosophical shift, replacing the 10+2 structure with a 5+3+3+4 framework and emphasising competency-based, holistic learning. Institutional instruments like PARAKH (Performance Assessment, Review, and Analysis of Knowledge for Holistic Development) under NCERT and the National Curriculum Framework 2023 were designed to operationalise this vision. Yet even these reforms have not resolved the deeper pathology: India's high-stakes, single-sitting examinations continue to function as the primary sorting mechanism for scarce seats, creating enormous incentive structures for malpractice.
The K. Radhakrishnan Committee, constituted in the wake of the NEET-UG controversy, submitted its blueprint recommending a fundamental restructuring of the NTA. Its key recommendations include converting the NTA into a statutory body modelled on the UPSC, headed by a Director General and two Additional Directors General; creating 10 functional verticals covering cybersecurity, psychometrics, forensics, and logistics; establishing 1,000 standardised testing centres; and deploying a Digi-Exam biometric framework integrating Aadhaar, facial recognition, and continuous surveillance. The committee also flagged the desirability of a shift toward continuous, computer-adaptive testing — a model used by standardised tests like the GRE — to reduce the catastrophic consequences of a single examination sitting.
A critical structural distinction the article draws is between JEE Advanced and NEET-UG in terms of institutional ownership. …
What is the purpose of 'Vidyanjali Yojana'?
1.To enable the famous foreign educational institutions to open their campuses in India.
2.To increase the quality of education provided in government schools by taking help from the private sector and the community.
3.To encourage voluntary monetary contributions from private individuals and organizations so as to improve the infrastructure facilities for primary and secondary schools.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Consider the following statements regarding the National Testing Agency (NTA):
1.NTA was established as a statutory body under an Act of Parliament.
2.NTA operates under the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.
3.The Radhakrishnan Committee recommended converting NTA into a body modelled on the Union Public Service Commission.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Which of the following best explains why JEE Advanced is considered more resistant to coaching-class manipulation than NEET-UG, according to the institutional design argument?
With reference to India's constitutional framework for education, consider the following:
1.Article 21A was inserted by the 86th Constitutional Amendment.
2.Education is placed on the Union List, giving Parliament exclusive legislative competence.
3.The Right to Education Act, 2009 operationalises the fundamental right under Article 21A.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
The Radhakrishnan Committee's recommendation for 'computer-adaptive testing' in India's entrance examinations is primarily intended to address which of the following concerns?
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