In a swift response to mounting concerns over alleged irregularities in competitive exams, the Centre sacked National Testing Agency (NTA) director general Subodh Singh with immediate effect.
Singh, who has not been assigned a new posting, was removed amidst a backdrop of controversy surrounding exams such as NEET and NET.
Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, while addressing the situation, took responsibility for the oversight, the Education Minister, on Saturday, acknowledged that there had been an institutional failure.
He mentioned that NTA’s leadership was being scrutinised for various issues and stressed that the Ministry would investigate the root cause of the incidents, noting that “accidents do occur”.
Taking charge as the interim head of NTA is Pradeep Singh Kharola, currently serving as the chairperson and MD of India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO).
Kharola, known for successfully overseeing the completion of the Pragati Maidan project, has been tasked with restoring credibility to NTA until a permanent replacement is appointed.
In a bid to overhaul the examination process and bolster data security measures, the Education Ministry has formed a high-level committee.
Chaired by K Radhakrishnan, former chairperson of ISRO and currently chairperson of the Board of Governors at IIT-Kanpur, the committee will focus on recommending reforms, improving data security protocols, and restructuring NTA’s operations.
The credibility crisis facing NTA has been worsened by the postponement of the NEET-PG entrance exam, originally scheduled for today, citing precautionary measures.
This marks the third disruption in major national exams within four days – UGC-NET was cancelled due to a paper leak, and CSIR-NET was postponed shortly after.
With over two lakh students registered for NEET-PG, the postponement announcement has left aspirants in limbo with less than 24 hours’ notice.
Furthermore, in response to alleged irregularities, the government has referred the investigation into NEET-UG, held on May 5, to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
This follows a similar decision regarding the UGC-NET examination.
