Union education minister directs NTA to overhaul operations, security systems; orders exam process audit

The Union education minister Pralhad Joshi has directed an overhaul of the National Testing Agency (NTA) operations, security systems, and an audit of all exam processes. The education minister’s directive comes after a meeting with the secretary of department of higher education Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, director general, and other senior officials was held.

The education minister has directed a complete overhaul of the confidential operations (CONOPS) architecture of the NTA. Joshi has also ordered that secluded rooms, air-gapped systems, and device-deposit protocols be established.

The minister has also directed NTA to submit a report on corrective action taken.

According to the education ministry’s post on X, the union education minister was told about the steps taken by the testing agency in the wake of recent issues, especially efforts to reform the overall system.

Also read ‘Paper leaks are symptom, NTA is disease’: Students, AISA, SFI demand agency’s scrapping

NTA removes over 50 staff members

During the meeting, the minister was informed of the steps taken by NTA to improve the internal systems.

• More than 50 staff have been removed from NTA.
• Ten new professional leadership positions, including chief technology officer, chief finance officer, CISO, GM, test security, GM, research and development, and psychometrics, and others, have been advertised and are being onboarded.
• Specialists are being onboarded from the private sector for cybersecurity, psychometrics, question-paper design, and other specialised areas.

The move is aimed at strengthening the overall education system, along with the credibility and security of exams conducted by the NTA, in the wake of the NEET UG paper leak and the errors reported by students during the UGC NET exam.