HRD mulls setting up body for entrance tests

NEW DELHI: The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry is considering setting up a specialised body to conduct all entrance examinations currently held by the

NEW DELHI: The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry is considering setting up a specialised body to conduct all entrance examinations currently held by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), sources said. These include the National Eligibility Test (NET),JEE Main and National Eligibility Cum Entrance Test (NEET) among others.

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According to sources, this body will be a specialised one with subject matter experts as members and will conduct examinations online. It will be modelled upon the Educational Testing Service (ETS) of USA which conducts highly specialised tests globally.

“All the examinations that are conducted by CBSE and are not related to school education will be conducted by the new body once formed. This will take away pressure from the CBSE and will allow it to focus on its core activities,” said a source.

“CBSE will conduct the examinations that it is supposed to do for this year and the next year till a decision on forming the new body is taken,” added the source.

Sources further said that HRD minister Prakash Javadekar has directed the ministry to find ways to expedite setting up the National Testing Service (NTS) to help standardise the tests, which could benefit students by providing timely exams, online testing and instant results. There have been instances in the past when results of these tests have been delayed for months.

A month back the CBSE had raised concerns over conducting these exams stating that it was a time consuming exercise. It said the body was unable to concentrate on core activities related to affiliations and conducting its own examination among others as a consequence.