NTA has only 25 permanent staff, outsources paper setting, major tasks: Congress
NTA has only 25 permanent staff, outsources paper setting, major tasks: Congress
Congress leader Ajoy Kumar has raised concerns about the National Testing Agency (NTA), claiming that it operates with fewer than 25 permanent employees yet manages to conduct over two dozen major exams, including the highly competitive NEET UG.
Kumar, who is in charge of Congress affairs in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, accused the Centre of risking students' futures by overburdening the NTA.
INADEQUATE STAFF AND OUTSOURCING
Kumar alleged that the NTA relies heavily on a small number of deputed employees and contractual staff, which has led to the outsourcing of critical tasks such as paper setting, distribution, and data security protocols to private technical service providers.
Speaking to PTI, he compared the agency's functioning to "playing with the future of students" and criticised the Centre for asking the NTA to handle more than it was capable of managing efficiently.
Former education administrators and experts familiar with NTA's operations, as reported by The Telegraph, have echoed similar concerns earlier. They highlighted the agency's dependency on external experts, including private technical service providers, due to its lack of in-house expertise.
NTA was set up in 2018 with the aim of functioning like the Educational Testing Service (ETS) in the US, which manages tests like the SAT and GRE for college admissions.However, while the ETS employs over 200 staff members, the NTA operates with only a small team.
R Subrahmanyam, the former secretary with the education ministry's higher education department, mentioned that the NTA was designed to be a "lean, efficient entity" focused on online exams with credible technical partners.
Tasks such as setting up test centres and securely transmitting encrypted question papers to these centres are outsourced to technical partners, chosen through a thorough selection process that prioritises robust IT infrastructure and strong cybersecurity measures. Initially, Tata Consultancy Services was one of the key technical agencies involved.
Despite these precautions, Subrahmanyam and experts have pointed out potential vulnerabilities that could be exploited to compromise the integrity exams.
While the NTA's initial focus was on computer-based online tests, it has ventured into pen-and-paper tests, starting with this year's NEET. Pen-and-paper exams are riskier since question papers are printed at private presses chosen by the agency, a process susceptible to leaks.
Recently, it has also come into light that the NTA isregistered as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
PAPER LEAK CONTROVERSY
The NEET UG exam, held on May 5, witnessed participation from around 24 lakh candidates. However, the announcement of results on June 4 was marred by allegations of question paper leaks in states like Bihar.
These irregularities have sparked further criticism of the NTA's capacity to manage such large-scale exams effectively.
The union education ministry recently blamed "institutional failure" for the alleged irregularities in both the NEET UG and the National Eligibility Test (NET) held for PhD admissions and assistant professor recruitment.
The NTA, which also conducts other significant exams like JEE Main, the Common Management Admission Test (CMAT), and the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), has faced scrutiny over its ability to maintain the integrity of these examinations.
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