NTA removes 50 staff, overhauls exam system after UGC-NET retest row

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has removed more than 50 staff members and begun recruiting professionals for key positions as it moves to overhaul its examination system following errors in three UGC-NET papers.

The move came a day after the agency announced that the English, Commerce and Sociology papers of the UGC-NET June 2026 examination would be conducted again. The decision has triggered protests by student organisations and renewed criticism from opposition parties, with several groups demanding that the NTA be scrapped.

The Education Ministry said Education Minister Pralhad Joshi reviewed the situation with the Secretary of Higher Education, the NTA Director General and other senior officials on Monday. The minister was briefed on the measures taken following the recent examination-related issues and on steps to reform the agency's examination system.

According to the ministry, more than 50 NTA staff members have been removed. Ten new professional leadership positions, including Chief Technology Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Information Security Officer, General Manager for test security and General Manager for research and development and psychometrics, have also been advertised.

The NTA is additionally bringing in domain experts from the private sector for specialised areas such as cybersecurity, psychometrics and question paper design.

Joshi directed officials to ensure strict compliance with examination protocols and ordered an overhaul of the agency's confidential operations architecture. This includes its secluded examination rooms, air-gapped systems and procedures governing the deposit of electronic devices.

The NTA has also been asked to conduct a comprehensive audit of its examination processes and submit a report detailing corrective measures.

The latest measures followed complaints about errors in three UGC-NET papers. The NTA said it constituted a committee to examine the complaints, following which the panel identified anomalies in the English, Commerce and Sociology papers and recommended fresh examinations to ensure fairness.

The English and Commerce papers will now be held on September 9, while the Sociology paper is scheduled for September 10.

The UGC-NET June 2026 examination was conducted between June 22 and 30 across 87 subjects for junior research fellowship, eligibility for assistant professorships and admission to PhD programmes.

The NTA maintained that its decision to order a retest was taken after examining the complaints rather than allowing papers with identified defects to stand.

"The task of an examination-conducting agency is not only to conduct error-free examinations, but also to act promptly and honestly whenever an anomaly is found," an NTA source said.

The agency said acknowledging the errors and taking corrective action was necessary to protect the interests of candidates and strengthen accountability.

The decision, however, drew sharp political and student criticism.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi accused the government of allowing the examination system to become an "extraction machine" and said the NTA's leadership must also be held accountable. He argued that the resignation of former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan following the NEET-UG paper leak controversy should not be seen as the end of accountability.

Student groups including the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), Students' Federation of India (SFI), All India Students' Association (AISA) and Krantikari Yuva Sangathan (KYS) staged protests in Delhi and announced plans for demonstrations across the country against the retest.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also raised concerns over the issue. Its national general secretary Virendra Singh Solanki said students' futures could not be compromised and called for accountability at the NTA.

Other Congress leaders criticised the government over what they described as repeated failures of the examination agency, while the Aam Aadmi Party said the latest issue was more than a "minor error", arguing that such lapses cost students time, money, opportunities and peace of mind.

The NTA said an examination agency operating at such a large scale could encounter problems, but its credibility depended on identifying, acknowledging and correcting them.

The agency's latest restructuring measures are now aimed at tightening examination security and preventing similar lapses in future.