NTA empanels 5,000 experts in major overhaul after NEET-UG paper leak

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has empanelled more than 5,000 academicians, scientists, researchers, professionals, educators, translators and moderators to strengthen the process of conducting entrance examinations and prevent question paper leaks.

The experts will be assigned confidential responsibilities, including question paper setting, translation, vetting, moderation, answer key verification, curriculum mapping, research and psychometric validation, sources said.

The move is part of the agency's ongoing restructuring after the NEET-UG paper leak in May this year triggered widespread protests and led to the resignation of former Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

Following the controversy, the NTA removed around 600 subject matter experts from its panel. The agency also relocated its headquarters from Okhla in Southeast Delhi to the Government of India Press building on Minto Road.

As part of its examination reforms, the NTA has invited Expressions of Interest (EOI) from academicians, scientists, educators and other qualified professionals to join its three-year panel of subject matter experts and translators.

Sources said the agency is continuing to expand the panel through a year-round empanelment process rather than following a fixed recruitment deadline.

“More than 5,000 experts, including subject matter experts, moderators and translators, have been added to NTA’s panel… We are not hiring them; they are being empanelled following multi-layered scrutiny and verification. The NTA is building its own large question bank for conducting examinations — a common pool of questions to prevent paper leaks. Therefore, the NTA has not set any deadline for empanelling translators and subject matter experts. The EOI remains open, and experts are being added to the panel throughout the year,” sources said.

NTA plans large question bank to prevent examination paper leaks

A major component of the agency's restructuring is the development of a large question bank from which questions can be selected for different entrance examinations. The common pool is intended to reduce the possibility of question papers being leaked before examinations.

The agency wants subject matter experts and translators to prepare, review and verify questions without knowing which particular questions will eventually appear in an examination or even which examination they are being prepared for.

According to sources, the question bank will contain such a large collection of questions that experts involved in setting papers or translating them will have little scope to memorize and reproduce the questions.

The NTA is also working toward finalizing examination papers only a few minutes before the scheduled start of a test. This approach is intended to prevent advance access to the final set of questions and reduce opportunities for leaks.

A senior government official said the agency had already started developing and implementing this system for some of the entrance examinations it conducts.

“The NTA has already started implementing this for some of the entrance examinations it conducts…,” the official said.

The agency had also invited Expressions of Interest last month to empanel subject matter experts and translators who could review AI-translated examination materials.

The move is expected to strengthen the review and verification process for translated content, alongside the wider responsibilities assigned to the newly expanded expert panel.

Four-layer verification process for NTA subject matter experts

The NTA has introduced a four-layer verification procedure to assess applicants before adding them to its panel. The process is intended to examine their academic qualifications, professional experience and suitability for handling confidential examination-related work.

Officials said the initial stage involves checking the applicant's personal details, eligibility, educational qualifications and professional experience. Documentary verification is carried out before applications proceed to further scrutiny.

Following this, a subject matter committee constituted by the agency evaluates the academic and professional credentials of applicants. The committee examines their academic standing, research record and experience in preparing question papers.

“In the first stage, the applicant’s details, eligibility, educational qualifications, experience, etc are checked and verified. Following the documentary verification, the NTA has constituted a subject matter committee which reviews and evaluates an applicant’s academic standing, research record, experience in setting question papers, etc,” an official said.

Applicants who clear these stages are shortlisted for further scrutiny. The agency also conducts background checks to establish whether candidates have any association with coaching institutes or have previously prepared question bank materials for students.

The restrictions are intended to prevent potential conflicts of interest and ensure that individuals handling confidential examination assignments meet the agency's requirements.

NTA makes non-disclosure agreements mandatory for empanelled experts

Apart from screening applicants, the agency has introduced additional conditions governing how empanelled experts handle confidential assignments.

Selected subject matter experts, translators and other professionals must sign a comprehensive Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) when they join the panel. They must also reaffirm their confidentiality commitments at the beginning of every assignment.

“The agency has also specified restrictions on how the confidential work is to be carried out. Empanelled experts are required to sign a comprehensive Non-Disclosure Agreement at the time of empanelment and reaffirm it at the start of every assignment,” the official said.

The requirements are intended to restrict the disclosure of sensitive examination-related information and ensure that professionals involved in question paper preparation, translation and verification maintain confidentiality throughout their assignments.

JEE, NEET and CUET among examinations conducted by NTA

The NTA conducts several major entrance and eligibility examinations across India, including the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main, Common University Entrance Test (CUET) for undergraduate and postgraduate admissions, University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET), Council of Scientific and Industrial Research National Eligibility Test (CSIR-NET) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).

Except for NEET, all the other examinations are conducted in the Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode.

Alongside its question bank initiative and expansion of the expert panel, the agency is also working on an "exam-agnostic" approach to conducting examinations.

The proposed approach aims to ensure that the examination process does not remain dependent on any single vendor, technology provider or platform. This is part of the broader effort to strengthen the agency's examination infrastructure and reduce reliance on individual service providers.

Together, the expanded expert network, stricter verification procedures, confidentiality requirements and common question bank form part of the NTA's ongoing efforts to improve examination security and rebuild confidence in its entrance examination system.