NTA Exam Changes Live: Reforms in NEET UG, JEE Main, CUET; test centres, question papers, biometric data

The high-level committee recommends 'mobile testing centres' to facilitate the candidates from rural, remote, and thinly populated areas (for example North-East, Northern Himalayan States, Andaman Nicobar Islands). A typical large bus can accommodate 40-50 passengers, but for exams, it is designed to seat 30 test takers with ample space between seats. A fleet of five such buses, each equipped with 30 laptops, two servers, reliable power supply, and stable internet connectivity supported by booster antennae, can function as a test center for approximately 150 test takers. This setup is considered a Single Test Centre (STC) equivalent, functioning as an operational "Mobile Testing Centre."

The National Testing Agency has been suggested to develop at least 1,000 examination centres in the country, in a phased manner. The location of the test centres should be feasible for candidates, well-connected by public transport, having sufficient space for comfortable seating arrangements, and with uninterrupted power supply and technical support.

The high-level committee on NTA exam reforms has suggested measures, to prevent breach in NEET exam, on setting up of question papers, transportation, printing of papers, and more. The medical entrance exam held on May 5 this year was leaked at a centre while the question papers were being transferred from the bank to the exam centre on an e-rickshaw . In order to stop NEET paper leak through transportation, the panel recommended the following steps:

NEET UG 2025: Suggestions to avoid breach.

Until a full transition to computer-based test (CBT) is possible, the NTA High-Level Commission has recommended "Computer-Assisted Secure PPT" or CPPT. For the candidate, the test will continue to be a pen-and-paper test but far more technology will be employed in the delivery of the paper to the candidates. Given below are the main points:

• Question papers will be encrypted and randomised for each candidate. The final hard-copies handed out will have their photograph and roll number printed on it.
• The NTA will have to organise and maintain high-speed printers for printing the question papers.
• Question papers will wbe send to the centre's server (like in the CBT mode)
• The printing will be at a "pre-identified local and secure control room". The printing will be in the presence of state administration, police, NIC officials, observers and the exam centre head.
• Question papers can be printed on the day of the exam, thus eliminating the need to transport them or store them in bank vaults, as has been the practice.
• OMR sheets can be printed with the question papers.
• After the exam, the OMR sheet can be scanned at the centre itself and the scans uploaded. This will rule out "the possibility of tampering with the OMRs en route to the NTA".

The NEET 2025 syllabus is decided and published by the National Medical Commission. It has been published today.

Read More | NEET syllabus 2025 out; NMC uploads subject-wise topics

The K Radhakrishnan Committee has recommended a host of changes for the NTA itself. These include major changes in the staffing pattern and distribution of roles and responsibilities within the National Testing Agency. It has recommended that

• The Director General (DG-NTA) be assisted by two additional director generals and directors
• The governing body of the NTA have three sub-committees with each responsible for one of these: test audit, ethics and transparency; nomination and staff conditions; stakeholder relationships

The NTA as a whole will have 10 'verticals', including:

• Digital infrastructure, technology and products
• National-wise testing centre infrastructure
• Research and development
• Transparency and communication
• International collaboration
• Information security
• Test-security and real-time monitoring
• Vigilance and forensics
• Administration, HR and capacity building
• Finance and legal matters

It will also work with district-level committees.

The NMC has published the NEET 2025 syllabus. While the link is available neither the National Medical Commission site, nor the link to the document itself is opening.

The CUET exam for the undergraduate level was held in hybrid mode this year but the University Grants Commission has already announced that CUET UG 2025 is moving to a complete CBT mode . That said, the Radhakrishnan committee also had recommendations for CUET. It suggested rationalising the number of subjects and that the NTA prepare "exam-specific" strategies to tackle each.

The High-Level Committee Report recommends shifting to the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode from the Pen and Paper Test (PPT) mode. The advantages of CBT, as per the expert panel, are as follows:

• Any type of question that can be created in PPT can also be developed in CBT. However, the reverse is not true. For numerical questions, CBT allows answers in a pseudo-"continuous" form with defined precision, while PPT can only accommodate discrete integer-type responses.
• CBT enables the collection of various alphanumeric responses from candidates, whereas PPT can only record a limited set of specified answers on OMR sheets.
• In CBT, the length of questions, including graphics, diagrams, and tables, is not limited by available paper space. This offers more flexibility to create visually rich and conceptual questions, independent of language, and free from issues related to translation.
• The range of questions that can be asked in CBT is significantly broader than in PPT, owing to the advantages outlined in the second and third points.

The NTA High-Level Committee suggests 'fine-tuning' exams as per the learners' needs, use AI and technology to adapt the test to the learner's level.

The panel has recommended that the NTA stick to only college admission tests and not hold recruitment exams until their capacity expands significantly.

Apart from experts in academic and testing, the High-Level Committee of Experts on the NTA consulted with NEET exam candidates from this year. The views of the following candidates will likely influence how NTA NEET UG 2025 is ultimately conducted:

• Ankita Sangwan
• Aman Chopda
• Anshul Pratap Singh
• Himanshu Dhamni
• Mandeep
• Pranav Kumar
• Shivam Girotiya

Apart from them, students were represented by only a single group, the RSS-affiliate, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)

The NEET 2025 exam is still shrouded in a host of uncertainties related to processes and even the exam mode. Ministry of education, which manages the exam conducting body, NTA, is discussing recommendations related to NEET UG with the ministry of health and health education regulator, NMC. The official website, dates, exam bulletin, the NTA syllabus for NEET 2025 are all awaited and contingent on the outcomes of those discussions.

According to a report on the changes in exams conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the wide range of subject streams offered for CUET (Common University Entrance Test) admission may require restructuring. The current diversity of subject combinations has led to complexity in the examination process. To simplify this, it is suggested that these subjects be organized into related clusters or groups. This approach would make it easier for students to choose their preferred subjects, reduce confusion, and streamline the exam pattern. The rationalization is expected to enhance clarity and improve the overall efficiency of the admission process.

The High Level Committee report on the functioning of the National Testing Agency is not on the NTA official website but with the ministry of education.

The education minister, while speaking to the press, said that the reforms in the NTA NEET UG 2025 are under discussion with the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the health ministry. The NTA conducts the NEET exam on behalf of the NMC which is the top regulator for medical education and the profession in the country.

The High Level Committee of Experts for the NTA exists because of the widespread allegations of paper leak in the NEET exam for MBBS admissions this year. The HLCE has recommended "multi-stage testing" for the NEET UG. Here's what that entails:

• The test spread over a few days to even a few weeks, if the number of participants exceeds a certain figure - the report cites 2 lakh as example.
• A normalisation process based on predetermined parameters and methodology that will be communicated in advance

"An acceptable framework with thresholds and test objectives of scoring/ranking at each state, and number of attempts etc. may be evolved," says the report.

Currently, the JEE Main is held in multiple sessions. The first session of JEE Main 2025 will be held in January 22, 2025.

The high-level expert committee has also recommended conducting the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET UG) in multiple stages. Using multi-stage testing for NEET UG could be a feasible approach and should be explored further. A clear plan should be made, including score or rank limits for each stage, test objectives, and rules about how many attempts a candidate can have, as per the panel on NTA exam changes.

The number of exams the National Testing Agency conducts dropped to half the previous count in 2024; it was also the lowest since the first year it conducted exams. The K Radhakrishnan Committee has recommended that the NTA stop managing recruitment exams altogether from 2025 and stick to college entrance tests such as NEET UG 2025, JEE Main and others, plus the UGC NET.

Read More | National Testing Agency exam count dropped by over 50% in 2024; lowest in 5 years

The expert panel on NTA exam reforms has suggested using the test centres of Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) as examination centres for the national entrance exams such as the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main, National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET).

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will focus on major national entrance exams such as JEE Main, NEET, and CUET, as per a report of a high-level committee formed by the education ministry on functioning of NTA, following NEET UG paper leak and exam cancellations this year. NTA will not hold recruitment exams starting from 2025 session.