‘Build new NTA’: Agency looks to fill nine senior posts to restore trust after NEET paper leak backlash

The notification 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.

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).

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.

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.

NTA officials did not respond to HT’s queries.

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.”

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.