New Delhi: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has dismissed 47 officials in connection with the alleged NEET paper leak case, with criminal cases set to be registered against them, according to sources cited by ANI.
Officials said the action is part of a wider overhaul of the NTA aimed at strengthening the integrity and security of national-level examinations. They added that further reforms within the agency are expected in the coming days.
The development comes a day after the Centre reshuffled two secretaries in the Ministry of Education as part of the ongoing response to the examination controversy.
According to officials, the NTA will revamp its outsourcing system and introduce advanced technological safeguards to make examinations more secure and eliminate the possibility of question paper leaks.
As part of the restructuring, the agency will appoint four Senior General Managers and 16 Young Professionals through the UPSC’s Pratibha Setu portal.
The officials said one Senior General Manager will oversee the question bank, question paper standardisation, score normalisation, computer-based examinations and AI-driven evaluation systems. Another will supervise examination operations across more than 500 cities in India and selected international centres.
A third Senior General Manager will head cybersecurity, monitoring the NTA’s digital infrastructure, networks and data through a 24×7 Security Operations Centre. The fourth will oversee investigations into examination irregularities, develop digital forensic systems and coordinate with agencies including the CBI, Intelligence Bureau (IB), Enforcement Directorate (ED), state police forces and cybercrime units.
The dismissals came around 20 hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi released a video message announcing the Centre’s resolve to tighten action against examination fraud and introduce a stringent anti-paper leak law during the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.
