NTA moves headquarters from Okhla to Mint Road, builds new panel of 5,000 experts

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts major admission examinations such as JEE, NEET and CUET, is going through a period of significant change. After questions were raised over paper leaks and several irregularities, the government and the NTA have prepared to make the examination system "foolproof". As part of this, the agency has abandoned its old way of working and begun a major administrative overhaul at the ground level. It is expected to improve transparency and security over time.

The first step in the reform drive is a change of office. The agency's headquarters has been moved from Okhla in south-east Delhi to the Government of India Press building on Minto Road in New Delhi. At the new location, with modern security arrangements, the agency has also put together a new panel of about 5,000 academics, scientists, subject experts and translators from across the country. The aim is not merely to change the office but to ensure that every examination is conducted transparently.

The NTA has brought on board these 5,000 subject experts to prepare and vet question papers for the country's major examinations and to check the quality of translation. The academics and scientists must go through a strict four-level verification process. In the first stage, the credentials, educational qualifications and experience of applicants are examined. After this, a committee of subject experts checks each candidate's past record and experience of setting papers.

In May this year, there were sharp protests across the country over the NEET-UG paper leak and other irregularities. The government and the Education Ministry then took stern steps and carried out a large-scale reshuffle in the NTA. About 600 suspect or long-serving subject experts were removed. Learning from that experience, the agency is now building a large question bank. Under the new system, questions will be so random that no paper setter or translator will be able to memorise them in advance or leak them.

Students are expected to get relief from this major change. Since the move from Okhla to the new government campus on Minto Road, very tight security has been put in place there. Confidential documents are kept under the guard of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF). The entire chain, from the preparation of question papers to their printing and delivery to examination centres, has been placed under a double ring of digital and physical security. This is expected to make the examination environment safer, more transparent and more trustworthy in coming sessions.