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Staff crunch, outsourced operations plague NTA
National Testing Agency (NTA) was established in May 2018 to oversee exams. The organization has faced recurring operational problems since its early years, with a significant crisis in 2024 linked to exam leaks and re-conducts, highlighting structural weaknesses such as heavy outsourcing and limited permanent staff. A series of inquiries and reforms followed, including a 2024 committee report and a 2025 parliamentary panel review.
Why It Matters
The timeline illustrates how reliance on contract staff and outsourced processes can compromise exam integrity and reliability, impacting millions of aspirants and eroding public trust in a central testing body.
Timeline
9 Events
Parliamentary panel report on education issues
December 2025
A parliamentary panel on education reported in December 2025 that at least five of 14 competitive examinations conducted in 2024 and early 2025 faced major issues, with several exams postponed.
JEE Main January 2025: questions withdrawn
January 2025
JEE Main January 2025 saw at least 12 questions withdrawn after errors were found in the final answer key.
Radhakrishnan committee report submitted
October 21, 2024
The Radhakrishnan committee’s report was submitted on October 21, 2024, recommending structural strengthening, tighter oversight of outsourced vendors, and safeguards for both pen-and-paper and computer-based tests.
UGC-NET re-conduct continuation
September 2024
Continuation of the UGC-NET re-conduct across September 2024.
UGC-NET re-conduct across August–September 2024
August 2024
Re-conduct of UGC-NET scheduled across August–September 2024 after the June cancellation.
Leak-led cancellation and re-conduct of UGC-NET
June 2024
Leak-linked cancellation of UGC-NET in June 2024, followed by a re-conduct later in the year.
NEET-UG 2024 controversy
May 2024
NEET-UG 2024 controversy occurred in May 2024, signaling growing concerns over exam integrity and administration.
Operational problems in NTA’s first years (2018–2023)
2023
In its first five years, between 2018 and 2023, NTA faced persistent operational issues including technical glitches, language errors in question papers, dropped questions in final answer keys, normalisation disputes and exam-centre allocation problems.
NTA established as autonomous premier testing organisation
May 2018
Set up in May 2018 as an autonomous 'premier testing organisation' to oversee national entrance examinations.