The Ministry of Education has established a high-level committee of experts aimed at ensuring transparent, smooth, and equitable conduct of examinations.
This committee is tasked with recommending reforms to enhance examination processes, improve data security protocols, and review the structure and operations of the National Testing Agency (NTA). The committee has been instructed to submit its findings to the ministry within two months.
The committee, comprising seven members, will be chaired by former ISRO chief Dr. K Radhakrishnan. Other members include Dr. Randeep Guleria, Prof. B J Rao, Prof. Ramamurthy K, Pankaj Bansal, Aditya Mittal, and Govind Jaiswal.
The committee is slated to deliver its report to the Ministry of Education within two months.
This update follows the Centre's recent enactment of a rigorous law targeting malpractices and irregularities in competitive examinations, announced on Friday.
“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 1 of the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 (1 of 2024), the Central Government hereby appoints the 21st day of June, 2024, as the date on which the provisions of the said Act shall come into force,” reads the notification by the Personnel Ministry.
The Act also mandates penalties ranging from three to five years of imprisonment for cheating offenses, with stricter measures of five to 10 years' imprisonment and a minimum fine of Rs 1 crore for organized cheating crimes.
This development follows controversies surrounding the cancellation of the 2024 University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET), amidst initial suspicions of exam integrity breaches. The cancellation occurred immediately after over 9 lakh candidates participated across 317 cities, marking the first instance of a centrally-conducted public exam being scrapped under the new anti-paper leak law.
Additionally, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has initiated a case against unknown individuals for allegedly compromising the integrity of the UGC-NET exam conducted on June 18."
