The National Testing Agency (NTA) has been directed to conduct a thorough audit of all exam processes and submit a report on the corrective action taken, the Union education ministry said on Monday.
The development came a day after the agency cancelled the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) exams for English, commerce and sociology following a raft of factual, typographical and translation errors in the question papers. Two months ago, the premier testing agency scrapped the May 3 NEET-UG examination after a paper leak.
The order to the NTA was issued at a meeting chaired by Union education minister Pralhad Joshi.
Deep Dive
What specific errors were found in the UGC-NET exams that led to their cancellation?
Why did the NTA decide to conduct a thorough audit of its examination processes?
How will the re-conduct of the UGC-NET exams impact candidates?
“Education Minister Shri @JoshiPralhad held a meeting with the Secretary, Department of Higher Education, DG @NTA_Exams, and other senior officials. The Minister was apprised on the steps taken by NTA in the wake of recent issues, particularly with reference to reforming the overall system,” the ministry posted on X.
{{/usCountry}}“Education Minister Shri @JoshiPralhad held a meeting with the Secretary, Department of Higher Education, DG @NTA_Exams, and other senior officials. The Minister was apprised on the steps taken by NTA in the wake of recent issues, particularly with reference to reforming the overall system,” the ministry posted on X.
{{/usCountry}}“NTA has been directed to conduct a thorough audit of all exam processes and submit a report on corrective action taken,” it added.
The ministry said more than 50 staff have been removed from the NTA. Domain specialists are being brought in from the private sector for cyber-security, psychometrics, question-paper design and other specialised areas.
“Ten new professional leadership positions (Chief Technology Officer, Chief Finance Officer, CISO, GM, Test Security, GM, R&D and Psychometrics, and others) have been advertised and are being onboarded,” it said.
At the meeting, Joshi directed that strict compliance be ensured of the established exam protocols. He also called for a complete overhaul of Confidential Operations (CONOPS) architecture, secluded rooms, air-gapped systems, device-deposit protocols be implemented on war footing.
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The NEET paper leak forced an institutional overhaul of NTA.
The agency is rebuilding its institutional capacity and reducing dependence on contractual and outsourced manpower in line with the Radhakrishnan committee’s recommendations submitted in October 2024. Through various recruitment notifications between May 15 and August 6, NTA invited applications for 22 posts including for roles specialised leadership roles covering cybersecurity; test-centre operations; and vigilance, investigation and forensics. NTA on July 25 also floated a ₹7.5 crore tender to hire a professional security agency for round-the-clock security services at its headquarters on Delhi’s Minto Road, regional offices in Okhla and other notified locations.
On Sunday,the NTA said it will re-conduct the UGC-NET examination for the English, Sociology and Commerce after “multiple errors” were found in the exam conducted between June 22 and June 30 this year.
Also Read | 'Rapid, rigorous investigations': NTA revamps top ranks, creates new roles to probe exam malpractices
UGC-NET is conducted to determine the eligibility of candidates for the posts of Assistant Professor and admission to PhD programmes.
The NTA’s decision marked the cancellation of a second major exam by the agency this year, after the May 3 NEET-UG 2026 exam was scrapped following a paper leak that sparked nationwide protests.
A person aware of the details, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the Sociology question paper carried several spelling, translation and typographical errors. “At least 14 questions in the English question paper were repeated from the December 2024 examination paper. The Commerce paper faced similar issues.”
Several candidates had complained about errors and repetitive questions in the exams for the three subjects two months ago. The Hindustan Times earlier reported that those who appeared for the Sociology paper had alleged that a 100-page PDF containing handwritten questions was circulated before the June 30 exam, with nearly 90 questions and answer options matching the actual paper.
This is the second time UGC-NET papers are being cancelled in three years. In 2024, NTA scrapped the entire exam on June 19, a day after it was conducted, after intelligence inputs indicated that the question paper had been leaked. The government then handed the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which later found that the purported leaked-paper screenshot was doctored and reported no evidence of an actual paper leak.