The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, tasked with reforming the National Testing Agency (NTA), tabled a report in the Rajya Sabha on Friday (October 9, 2026) recommending the transition of flagship entrance examinations to Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode, the establishment of stringent logistical precautions, and the creation of a centralised national registry to bar compromised vendors.
To eliminate handling risks associated with traditional pen-and-paper formats, the committee strongly recommended shifting major national entrance tests, specifically NEET-UG, to an online, CBT format.
Dynamic question banks
The panel emphasised that the most viable long-term defence against recurring leaks is investing in large, diverse, and continuously updated question banks. Drawing on advanced domain knowledge, these banks should generate dynamic, randomised question sets for CBT formats. The committee stated that repeatedly relying on standard question sets or static preparation methods creates a severe integrity risk.
The panel also noted that in the proposed CBT format, question papers are to be securely transmitted via hybrid encrypted delivery mechanisms right up to the start of the examination. “This eliminates the need for early physical storage and transport of printed question booklets,” it noted.
Recognising the scale of examinations like NEET-UG, the panel suggested exploring multi-session CBT schedules across independent shifts.
“To maintain fairness and public trust, any normalisation methodology applied across multi-session tests must be independently audited, mathematically robust, and clearly explained to students well before implementation,” the panel stated.
The committee urged the NTA to rely primarily on renowned academic institutions such as the Indian Institutes of Technology, All India Institutes of Medical Sciences, and Indian Institutes of Management to curate content.
“A strict background check system must be established to track the track record and integrity of paper setters to rule out conflicts of interest, such as faculty linkages with private coaching academies or commercial interests,” the panel said.
Digital infrastructure
Recognising that a transition to CBT mode requires extensive digital infrastructure, the panel warned against over-reliance on unverified private vendors.
To address digital connectivity gaps, particularly in tier-2, tier-3, and rural regions, the committee recommended using mid-sized IT labs (100–200 nodes) available at public universities, government engineering colleges, polytechnics, and accredited schools.
The panel flagged severe workforce constraints within the agency, highlighting a vacancy rate of over 40% among key permanent posts. It urged the immediate filling of sanctioned permanent positions on a fast-track mode, cautioning that reliance on short-term deputation (often limited to three years) hampers long-term institutional memory, psychometric expertise, and operational security.
The panel highlighted that security measures must not turn test centres into high-stress, hostile environments. It advised against invasive physical search procedures that cause undue anxiety to candidates.
The panel also highlighted the necessity of establishing a centralised, inter-agency digital registry of blacklisted and penalised vendors.
Presently, vendors penalised, suspended, or blacklisted by one testing body or State often secure lucrative contracts with other autonomous educational bodies or recruitment boards due to isolated records, the panel noted.
“The proposed central database will aggregate records of all service providers, technology partners, frisking agencies, and logistics firms penalised under The Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act or agency-specific breaches,” the report stated.
The registry will record detailed histories of default, including contract cessations, active FIRs, investigations, and security lapses. Crucially, the committee recommended that the registry track not only parent companies but also their key directors, executive personnel, and associated subsidiary entities to prevent tainted vendors from re-emerging under new corporate names.
The panel further recommended that access to the central registry will be made mandatory for all central autonomous institutions, UPSC, SSC, State service commissions, and educational boards prior to finalising procurement or logistics tenders. “Any firm listed on the registry will face an automatic disqualification from participating in public examination processes nationwide,” it recommended.
Published – October 09, 2026 07:45 pm IST
