The National Testing Agency (NTA) is looking to fill nine senior posts to build a “New NTA”, which officials described as an exercise to restore trust in the agency that has faced criticism of its handling of exams, especially the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2026 that had to be re-held after a paper leak.
Candidates appearing for the CUET-UG 2026 examination conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) (HT File/Representational Photo)
In a July 15 vacancy notification, NTA invited applications from serving officers of the Centre, States, Union Territories (UTs), autonomous bodies and public sector undertakings (PSUs) for nine posts, including three joint directors, two deputy directors, two assistant directors, one research scientist (C), and one senior superintendent (Accounts).
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The notification, shared in an X post, was accompanied by a poster that had ‘BUILD A NEW NTA’ written under the NTA logo and it listed the nine openings in the agency.
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The notification, shared in an X post, was accompanied by a poster that had ‘BUILD A NEW NTA’ written under the NTA logo and it listed the nine openings in the agency.
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The agency said preference would be given to officers with “vast experience” in the conduct and management of examinations. “This is aimed at strengthening its leadership team, institutional capacity and oversight mechanisms. The new NTA is all about rebuilding the integrity architecture of the agency’s examination ecosystem through efficient human-resource. We want to restore the trust of students and parents in NTA by effective administration,” a senior education ministry official said, requesting anonymity.
This is the second advertisement for filling vacant posts at NTA after the agency faced criticism over the NEET-UG paper leak. The agency on May 17 had advertised for three specialist leadership positions, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Finance Officer (CFO), and General Manager-Human Resources (GM-HR) — which it said would help in “modernising the Agency and embedding best-in-class systems across its operations.”
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Over 2 million medical aspirants appeared for NEET-UG 2026 re-examination on June 21 after the original examination was held on May 3. NTA announced the re-examination on May 15 after receiving an email on May 8 alleging a leak and noting overlaps between a circulated guess paper and the May 3 question paper. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), probing the alleged leak, has arrested 13 people so far and will file its charge sheet this month.
Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.
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Home/India News/‘Build new NTA’: Agency looks to fill nine senior posts to restore trust after NEET paper leak backlash
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