Parl panel asks Centre to form time-bound exam reform roadmap

A Parliamentary committee urges the Centre to create a timeline for implementing examination reforms due to ongoing irregularities causing student anxiety.

Published on: Jun 18, 2026, 07:04:00 IST

By Sanjay Maurya

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New Delhi: A Parliamentary committee has asked the Centre to publish a time-bound roadmap for implementing the recommendations of the High-Level Committee of Experts (HLCE) on examination reforms, noting that paper-related irregularities continue despite measures put in place after the NEET-UG 2024 controversy.

Parl panel asks Centre to form time-bound exam reform roadmap

In a report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, the department-related Parliamentary standing committee on education, women, children, youth and sports, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh, said examination irregularities were still leading to cancellations and causing anxiety among students.

“The Committee notes the steps taken by the Ministry, including the constitution of the High-Powered Steering Committee headed by Dr. K. Radhakrishnan to monitor the implementation of recommendations of HLCE. However, despite these measures, the paper irregularities are still happening, leading to the cancellation of the examinations, thereby causing a lot of anxiety among students,” the report said.

The committee recommended that the National Testing Agency (NTA) “publish a time-bound implementation roadmap for the HLCE recommendations at the earliest”.

The education ministry had constituted the HLCE in June 2024 following controversies surrounding the NEET-UG examination. The committee submitted its report in October 2024, recommending reforms in national entrance testing, strengthening of the NTA, greater coordination with states and staggered examinations. A high-powered steering committee headed by former ISRO chairman K. Radhakrishnan was subsequently set up to oversee implementation.

“However, despite these measures, paper irregularities are still happening,” the panel noted.

NEET-UG 2026 held on May 3 was called off on May 12 following allegations of a paper leak, including purported overlaps between a pre-circulated guess paper and the actual paper. More than 2.27 million candidates had appeared for the May 3 examination. The re-examination is scheduled for June 21.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Maurya
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.Read More

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