In a sweeping internal crackdown following the NEET-UG paper leak and amid protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party, the National Testing Agency (NTA), which is the nodal autonomous body that conducts entrance tests to higher educational institutions, has “terminated the services” of 47 officials, sources told The Indian Express.
Sources said the agency would also initiate “legal and criminal action” against the officials to send a “strong message”. These are “only the initial steps” in reforming the functioning of the agency, and “several more stringent and reform-oriented measures” are likely to follow, the sources said.
In a separate statement signalling wider reforms within the NTA, the Education Ministry said it has issued advertisements for the appointment of senior professionals at the level of General Manager in the agency to oversee key functions such as its network of centres, operations, information security and vigilance.
The Ministry also said it would engage 16 young professionals in various units of the NTA through the Pratibha Setu portal of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
The portal is a Government initiative that allows “verified employers — including ministries, PSUs, autonomous bodies, and private organizations — to access details of non-recommended willing candidates who cleared all stages of UPSC exams but didn’t make it to the final merit list”.
These appointments, the Education Ministry said, will mark “the first concrete step in the institutional rebuild of NTA” being implemented in line with the recommendations of the high-level committee of experts chaired by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan.
The Indian Express had first reported on July 7 that the Government is all set to overhaul the NTA, covering its organisation, infrastructure, technology and processes.
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According to the Education Ministry, four contractual positions of General Manager — each for an initial term of three years — have been notified: Test Centre Network and Operations; Information Security; Vigilance, Investigation and Forensics; and Assessment Research and Development and Psychometrics.
The General Manager (Test Centre Network and Operations) will lead the NTA’s nationwide test-centre footprint, spanning over 500 cities and select international centres.
The GM will be responsible for empanelment standards, capacity planning, centre quality, accessibility for candidates with disabilities, hygiene and amenities, exam-day operations, and coordination with states. This position, the Ministry said, requires senior operations leadership experience in a large multi-site network of at least 200 locations.
The General Manager (Information Security), who will be designated as NTA’s Chief Information Security Officer, will head cyber-security and be responsible for all agency systems, applications, networks and data.
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The position will also specifically be responsible for compliance with related laws and norms, including Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, Information Technology Act, 2000, and directions of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), as well as running a round-the-clock Security Operations Centre.
The post requires 12 years of information-security experience, including at least five at a senior leadership level, and a related professional certifications, such as CISSP, CISM, CISA or their equivalent.
The General Manager (Vigilance, Investigation and Forensics) will head the agency’s internal probe and digital forensics functions, including leading probes into suspected malpractice, building an in-house digital forensics capability, and coordinating with Central and state investigative agencies.
The position requires 15 years of experience, including five years at a senior level in investigation, vigilance or law-enforcement.
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The General Manager (Assessment Research and Development and Psychometrics) will head the agency’s academic and measurement-science function and will be responsible for item banks or digital repositories of questions, normalisation methodology, equating and calibration procedures, and pilots on computer-adaptive testing and AI-assisted assessment.
The position requires a doctorate in psychometrics, educational measurement, statistics or an allied discipline, with a minimum of 12 years of postdoctoral experience, including at least five years at a senior leadership level in a national or international testing organisation.
As for the 16 young professionals, the Ministry said: “The engagement is open to candidates who have appeared in the Civil Services Examination and are on the Pratibha Setu portal, with 12 positions in academic research, two in legal research and two in finance and accounts.”
These professionals will be engaged on a consolidated monthly salary for an initial term of two years, which can be extended by another year based on performance, the Ministry said.
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“Further recruitment and empanelment actions across the ten functional verticals recommended by the high-level committee of experts will follow in the coming weeks,” the Ministry said.
