Parliamentary Panel to Examine NTA Reforms, NEET-UG Paper Leak Allegations

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports is set to review the reforms proposed for the National Testing Agency (NTA) and discuss the alleged NEET-UG paper leak during a meeting scheduled for May 21. According to a Rajya Sabha notice, the panel will assess the implementation status of the K. Radhakrishnan Committee recommendations on NTA reforms and receive updates on the ongoing probe into the NEET-UG controversy.

The committee, chaired by senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, has called upon Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi and NTA Chairperson Pradeep Kumar Joshi to appear before the panel for detailed deliberations.

The NTA had cancelled the NEET-UG examination conducted on May 3 following allegations of irregularities and paper leak claims. Around 23 lakh aspirants had registered for the nationwide medical entrance examination. The agency stated that reports regarding suspected malpractice surfaced on May 7, four days after the exam.

Earlier this month, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that the NEET-UG re-examination will be conducted on June 21. He also confirmed that from next year onwards, the medical entrance test will shift to a computer-based format.

Apart from the examination-related discussions, the parliamentary panel will also hold consultations on the growing impact of Artificial Intelligence in education and ways to improve student employability. Representatives from Anthropic India, Pratham, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Infosys and Indian Institute of Technology Madras are expected to participate in the discussions.

Source: The Hindu