New Delhi: A parliamentary panel has recommended that the National Testing Agency (NTA) focus on pen-and-paper exams—rather than computer-based tests—citing national-level exams that’ve been successfully conducted in this mode, including the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) exams.
In its report on a review of autonomous exam-holding bodies presented before the Parliament Monday, the Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports—led by Congress Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Digvijay Singh—has urged that computer-based tests (CBTs), if used, be conducted only in government-controlled centres.
“The committee was informed that, with regard to securing the examination process, the trade-offs are as follows. Pen and paper exams offer more opportunities for paper leaks, while computer-based tests (CBT) can be hacked in a manner that is difficult to detect,” the report has said.
The NTA, an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, has been under scrutiny following charges of paper leak, especially surrounding the 2024 National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) exams.
“Between the two (pen-and-paper and computer-based exams), the committee supported a greater focus on pen-and-paper examinations, given that there are several models of such examinations, which have been leak-proof for several years, including the CBSE exams and the UPSC exams. The committee recommends that the NTA closely study these models and implement the same,” the report by the committee has stated.
Raising concerns over the high share of NTA-conducted competitive exams—five of 14 facing major issues last year, with three of those postponed—the committee has noted that “such instances do not inspire confidence among examinees in the system”. It is recommended that NTA urgently strengthen its processes to prevent such avoidable lapses in the future, its report has said.
After the 2024 NEET fiasco, a high-level government committee formed last year, headed by former ISRO chief K. Radhakrishnan, recommended several measures to ensure the smooth and secure conduct of national-level exams. However, the Radhakrishnan Committee, at the time, recommended a gradual shift from pen-and-paper to CBT format for the conduct of entrance examinations.
Surplus funds, expansion of coaching centres
In its report, the parliamentary panel has also stated that the NTA collected an estimated Rs 3,512.98 crore but spent only Rs 3,064.77 crore on conducting exams, thereby creating a surplus of Rs 448 crore in the last six years.
“The committee recommends that this corpus should be used to build the agency’s capabilities to conduct tests itself, or to strengthen regulatory and monitoring capabilities for its vendors,” the report has stated.
Additionally, the committee has raised concerns over the NTA’s delay in declaring the results of the Common University Entrance Test (CUET). “Such a delay is a cause of major concern, as it not only delays the admission process but also delays the start of the academic session by the on-boarded universities, which ultimately puts unnecessary pressure on the students,” it stated.
Besides, it has expressed concerns over the rapid expansion of coaching centres for competitive exams. The Ministry of Education, as well as the NTA, should ensure that papers more closely reinforce the school exam curriculum, avoiding the introduction of a parallel curriculum and the accompanying coaching centre industry.
“The committee recommends that the department set up a high-level committee to address the proliferation of coaching centres and suggest methods to regulate the same,” the committee has stated.
“NAAC (National Assessment and Accreditation Council) should streamline the accreditation process,” it has stated, noting that the current accreditation and re-accreditation process is bureaucratic and long. It involves a five-year cycle, annual reports, and cumbersome site visits, which places a high burden on university administrators.
“NAAC’s accreditation process for higher education institutions (HEIs) needs to be streamlined so that the whole process is quick and without unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles,” the committee has stated.
In light of allegations of bribery within the NAAC, the committee has observed that a thorough internal probe needs to be started.
This comes after the CBI began investigating charges that the Koneru Lakshmaiah Educational Foundation (KLEF) bribed a NAAC team in exchange for an A++ rating for the university in Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur district in February this year.
The panel has emphasised that the findings of the KLEF probe might be shared with it to ensure accountability and restore confidence in the agency.
The committee has also appreciated that the NAAC has taken steps to improve transparency, including revising the grading of nearly 200 institutes and removing at least 900 peer assessors, after the February bribery case. “NAAC should issue full details that clearly outline the results of the investigations so far, the measures undertaken as a response, and the reasons why these measures were necessary,” the committee has stated.
In November 2022, the Union Ministry of Education established a four-member panel—led by K. Radhakrishnan, Chairperson of the Board of Governors at IIT Kanpur—to propose measures for strengthening the assessment and accreditation of HEIs in the country. The NAAC is likely to launch its new accreditation system as well as a new portal for it sometime soon.
(Edited by Madhurita Goswami)