NEW DELHI: The Union Education Ministry has announced a major overhaul of the examination system at the National Testing Agency (NTA), including a four-tier paper checking process, removal of 600 experts and onboarding of new ones, and office premises secured by the CISF.
The Ministry has been in the crosshairs over the NEET-UG paper leak and the recent irregularities in the UGC-NET papers — the two exams are among the many conducted by the NTA.
In a post on X, the Ministry said NTA Director General Abhishek Singh had apprised it of actions taken by the agency.
“A revamp of the examination team was undertaken with 600 experts being removed and new experts being onboarded. A four-tier question paper checking system will be put in place to strengthen the scrutiny of examination papers,” it said.
As a follow up meeting on NTA, Union Education Minister Shri @JoshiPralhad directed that all necessary security and related infrastructural facilities should be put in place for the smooth conduct of examinations.
Following directions from the Minister, DG, NTA apprised on the… pic.twitter.com/SCSnko504d
— Ministry of Education (@EduMinOfIndia) August 18, 2026
“20-25 officials to be inducted in the next two to three weeks. Further induction plan was also reviewed. NTA offices will be shifted to the new premises on a war footing, where security will be reinforced with CISF teams,” the Ministry said.
The announcement followed a meeting chaired by Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi. The Ministry said Joshi “directed that all necessary security and related infrastructural facilities should be put in place for the smooth conduct of examinations”.
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The NTA action comes after recent student protests led by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) over the NEET-UG paper leak, which saw Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation and the promise of exam reform. The government also removed Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi.
The NTA has announced that it would re-conduct the UGC-NET June 2026 examinations in English, Commerce, and Sociology subjects after a committee found that the three question papers contained many factual, typographical, and translation errors, concluding that the papers did not meet the standards of a “fair and error-free examination”.
ALSO READ: UGC NET English, Commerce, Sociology Answer Keys On Hold Amid Complaints
In July, the government had terminated the services of 47 NTA officials as part of a major overhaul and punitive crackdown.
The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, was cleared by Parliament in the just-concluded Monsoon Session, after days of disruptions in both Houses over the NEET-UG paper leak and police action on protesting students on July 20. The Bill provides for tougher penalties, fast-track courts and time-bound trials for paper leak cases.