NTA chief replaced
The government’s decision comes hours after it announced the formation of a highlevel panel led by former Indian Space Research Organisation chairperson K Radhakrishnan to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations.
“Transparent, tamper-free and zeroerror examinations are a commitment. Setting up of the high-level committee of experts is the first of a series of steps to improve the efficiency of the examination process, put an end to all possible malpractices, strengthen data security protocols and overhaul and reform the NTA,” Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said.
The ministry’s notification comes two days after Pradhan announced the setting up of the committee that will make recommendations on reforms in the mechanism of the examination process, improvement in data security protocols and the structure and functioning of the NTA.
The panel, which is supposed to submit its report in two months, also includes former All India Institute of Medical Sciences Delhi director Randeep Guleria, Central University of Hyderabad ViceChancellor BJ Rao, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering at the IIT (Madras) K Ramamurthy, People Strong co-founder and Karmayogi Bharat board member Pankaj Bansal, IIT Delhi
Dean of Student Affairs Aditya Mittal and Ministry of Education Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal.
“The panel will analyse the end-to-end examination process and suggest measures to improve efficiency of the system. It will conduct a thorough review of SOPs and protocols of NTA and suggest measures to strengthen them along with monitoring mechanism,” the Education Ministry said.
The committee has also been tasked with examining the existing security protocols related to the setting of the papers and other processes for different exams and making recommendations to enhance the robustness of the system.