Parliamentary committee flags repeated NTA failures, pushes for pen and paper format

The Standing Committee on Education has recommended that the National Testing Agency return to pen-and-paper entrance examinations, citing multiple errors and security failures in recent online tests that weakened trust among students and parents.

The committee, chaired by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, said long-established systems used by CBSE and UPSC have remained secure and urged the NTA to model its processes on them.

The panel reviewed 14 competitive exams conducted by the NTA in 2024 and noted that five faced major disruptions.

The report stated that three exams, UGC-NET, CSIR-NET, and NEET-PG, had to be postponed; NEET-UG faced incidents of paper leaks; and the CUET exams for undergraduate and postgraduate admissions saw their results delayed.

The committee said repeated setbacks have undermined confidence in national-level testing.

The report also highlighted that "In JEE Main 2025, held in January 2025, at least 12 questions had to be withdrawn due to errors noted in the final answer key of the engineering entrance exam."

Calling for immediate reform, the panel said, "The committee therefore recommends that NTA quickly get their act together so that such instances, which otherwise are fully avoidable, do not occur in the future."

The committee examined the risks associated with both exam formats. It highlighted, "The committee was informed that with regard to securing the examination process, the tradeoffs are as follows. Pen and paper exams offer more opportunities for paper leaks, while computer-based tests (CBT) can be hacked in a manner that is difficult to detect."

Despite the vulnerabilities in both systems, the panel expressed a preference for pen-and-paper exams and pointed to the strong track record of CBSE and UPSC in conducting secure assessments.

The report advised that computer-based tests, when used, should be held strictly at government or government-controlled centers rather than private facilities.

It also raised concerns about companies involved in test administration, saying, "The committee is of the view that such blacklisted firms must not be engaged for any entrance test by the NTA or the state governments."

The committee further suggested compiling a national list of blacklisted firms and associated individuals to prevent them from obtaining future contracts.

The financial review showed that the NTA generated a surplus of ₹448 crore over six years, earning ₹3,512.98 crore and spending ₹3,064.77 crore on examinations.

The panel recommended investing this surplus in strengthening the agency’s own capacity to conduct secure exams and improving oversight of vendors.

It said, "The committee recommends that this corpus should be used to build the agency’s capabilities to conduct tests itself or to strengthen regulatory and monitoring capabilities for its vendors."