Amid NEET & UGC-NET row, Centre forms high-level panel to ensure fair conduct of exams by NTA

The 7-member committee, led by former ISRO chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan, will make recommendations on reforms in the examination process, structure and functioning of NTA.

NEET applicants at a protest at Delhi's Jantar Mantar demanding re-examination | Photo: Manisha Mondal/ThePrint

New Delhi: The ministry of education Saturday formed a seven-member high-level committee, led by former ISRO chairman Dr K. Radhakrishnan, to oversee fair and transparent examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).

This decision comes close on the heels of the cancellation of the University Grants Commission–National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) and allegations of a leak in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET-UG) paper. Additionally, the NTA Friday announced the postponement of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (CSIR UGC NET 2024).

The high-level committee will make recommendations on reforms in the examination process, improvements in data security protocols, and the structure and functioning of the NTA. It will submit its report to the ministry within two months from today.

According to a press release by the ministry of education, Dr K. Radhakrishnan, who is also the Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT Kanpur, has been appointed as the chairman of the committee, whose members include Dr. Randeep Guleria, former director of AIIMS Delhi; Prof. B.J. Rao, Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Hyderabad; Prof. Ramamurthy K., Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Madras; Shri Pankaj Bansal, Co-Founder of PeopleStrong and Board Member of Karmayogi Bharat; and Prof. Aditya Mittal, Dean of Student Affairs at IIT Delhi. Shri Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary of the ministry of education, will serve as the committee’s member secretary.

On Friday, the central government enacted the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, designed to curb cheating and unfair practices in public examinations and common entrance tests across the country. This legislation comes in response to widespread concerns over alleged malpractices in the NEET and UGC NET exams. The new law imposes stringent penalties. Individuals caught cheating face three to five years imprisonment, while those engaged in organised cheating operations could be sentenced to five to 10 years in prison and fined a minimum of Rs 1 crore.