The National Testing Agency or NTA is making headlines these days since admission examinations were cancelled and there have been claims of irregularities and paper leaks. Not only that, but the NEET UG 2024 paper leak issue made its way via the streets to Parliament and ultimately the Supreme Court. There are now concerns in the Rajya Sabha over the operation of NTA following the cancellation of UGC NET, CSIR UGC NET, NCET, and the postponement of the CUET UG 2024 result.
On July 31, Vivek K Tankha, a member of the Congress Rajya Sabha, questioned the Centre in the Lok Sabha regarding the amount of money the NTA had made from application forms and other services since its founding. In response, Dr Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, stated that the organisation is self-supported by the money it receives from exam fees. He stated that the agency’s net fee income for 2023–2024 is Rs 1065.38 crore, whereas the overall expenses are predicted to be Rs 1020.35 crore.
Since its founding, NTA has administered more than 240 tests to over 5.4 crore applicants. In 2022, the organisation launched the CUET UG and PG exams. The data indicates that following CUET, there was a sharp rise in both fee income and overall spending. The amount received in fees increased from Rs 494.46 crore in 2021–2022 to Rs 873.20 crore in 2022–2023.
According to Majumder “Keeping in mind the sensitivity of competitive exams, for their smooth and equitable conduct, several operational and security precautions are taken every year.” He explained that these precautions include hiring skilled/experienced companies to perform tasks like biometric collection, CCTV monitoring, AI analysis to spot potential impersonation, administering tests, etc.
The Central Government appoints a Director General to lead the NTA, which is a self-governing agency established under the Central Staffing Scheme. Aside from this, there are presently 22 workers at NTA who are on deputation. 39 people work on a contract basis, while 132 people are outsourced staff members.
Comments
0 comment