Claims on NTA being private organization, not under RTI Act false: PIB

NEW DELHI: The claim that the National Testing Agency (NTA) is a private organisation and does not come under the purview of the Right to Information (RTI) Act is false, clarified the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on social media. The PIB fact check said that it is under the ambit of RTI and DG, NTA as well as the governing body are in fact appointed by the centre.

“It is being claimed that NTA is a private organisation and it does not come under the RTI Act. This claim is false. NTA is within the purview of RTI. DG, NTA and Governing Body are appointed by Government of India,” PIB Fact Check handle wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

In a post on X, Pankaj Pachauri who is a journalist and founder of GoNews said that NTA is a private society and is not owned by the government. The X user also attached a certificate of registration.

The registration certificate read that the National Testing Agency located at the department of higher education, ministry of human resource development has been registered under Societies Registration Act.

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“Shocking to know that the NTA is a private society deciding the future of the students to publicly funded government institutions. Not under RTI = no info. No public oversight = no accountability. Thats why the govt and the ministry can wash their hands off the scam,” the journalist said while referring to the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) controversy.

The journalist also claimed that NTA has not published any RTI reply since December 2020. “Making RTI replies public is a requirement of the Act as a legal bounding. No explanation anywhere, no accountability,” he stated.

Recently, Member of Parliament (MP) P Wilson also claimed that NTA is registered under the societies act and said that the lack of legislation may allow it to avoid accountability, face no consequences for ‘illegal’ activities.