7-member high-level committee formed for recommendations on reform of NTA; Ex-ISRO chairman to head

India's Education Ministry on Saturday announced the formation of a high-level committee that will include seven members for recommendation of reforms in NTA. NTA has come under the scanner over alleged NEET Exams 2024 scam and NET Paper leak. Aspirants and opposition have been lambasting the Education Ministry over loopholes in the NTA. As a result, the Education Ministry announced the formation of high-level committee under the chairmanship of Ex-ISRO head Dr. K. Radhakrishnan. 

Education Ministry informed that in order to ensure transparent, smooth, and fair conduct of examinations through National Testing Agency (NTA), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education constituted a High-Level Committee of Experts to make recommendations on:

1. Reform in mechanism of examination process,
2. Improvement in Data Security protocols.
3. Structure and functioning of National Testing Agency 

The following shall be the Chairman and Members of the High-Level Committee- 

1. Dr. K. Radhakrishnan, Former Chairman, ISRO and Chairman BoG, IIT Kanpur. He will be the head of the committee.
2. Prof. B J Rao, Vice Chancellor, Central University of Hyderabad. He will be a member of the committee.
3. Prof. Ramamurthy K, Professor Emeritus, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras. Member of the committee.
4. Pankaj Bansal, Co-Founder, People Strong and Board Member- Karmayogi Bharat. He will also act as a member of the committee.
5. Prof. Aditya Mittal, Dean Student Affairs, IIT Delhi. Member of the committee.
6. Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India. Member of the committee.
7. Dr. Randeep Guleria, Former Director, AIIMS Delhi. Member of the committee.

What will be the work of Committee?

As per the official release, the committee will work in three major areas. - 

1) Reform in mechanism of examination process

• To analyse the end-to-end examination process and suggest measures to improve efficiency of the system and to forestall any possible breach.
• To conduct a thorough review of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)/Protocols of the NTA, and suggest measures to strengthen these procedures/protocols along with monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance at every level.

2) Improvement in Data Security Protocols

• To evaluate the existing data security processes and protocols of NTA and recommend measures for its improvement.
• To examine existing security protocols related to the paper-setting and other processes for different examinations and make recommendations to enhance robustness of system.

3) Structure & Functioning of National Testing Agency

• To make recommendations on the organizational structure and functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) for implementation of recommendations given under point (i) and (ii) and clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of functionaries at every level.
• Assess the current Grievance Redressal Mechanism of the NTA, identify areas of improvement and make recommendations for enhancing its efficiency.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Education Ministry has directed the Committee to submit its report to the Ministry within two months from the date of issue of this order ie. from today.