After NEET, UGC NET Mismanagement, Centre Replaces NTA Head
Government of India’s secretariat of the appointments Committee of the Ministry of Personnel has announced the sacking of current National Testing Agency (NTA) head Subodh Kumar Singh IAS. Mr Singh has been replaced with Pradeep Singh Kharola IAS. The announcement by the union government comes amidst reports of paper leaks and postponement of competitive and eligibility examinations like NEET and UGC NET.
Pradeep Singh Kharola is currently the chairman and managing director of India Trade Promotion Organization and his appointment till government appoint a regular Director General of NTA.
The NTA is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India mandated with conducting national level entrance and eligibility examinations like NEET, UGC NET, CSIR UGC NET, CMAT, GPAT, JNUEE etc.
NEET examination was marred with allegations of paper leaks and mismanagement of results declaration in which some students from a particular exam centre was awarded the top rank. The decision of NTA to award grace marks to some students has also invited widespread protests across the country.
The NTA was also criticised for cancellation of UGC NET examination that was held on June 18 for more than 9 lakh students.
In a related development today, to ensure the transparent, smooth, and fair conduct of examinations through the National Testing Agency (NTA), the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, has constituted a High-Level Committee of Experts to make recommendations on reforming the examination process mechanism, improving data security protocols, and evaluating the structure and functioning of the National Testing Agency.
The committee, chaired by Dr K Radhakrishnan, former Chairman of ISRO and Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT Kanpur, includes Dr Randeep Guleria, former Director of AIIMS Delhi; Prof BJ Rao, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Hyderabad; Prof Ramamurthy K, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Civil Engineering at IIT Madras; Pankaj Bansal, Co-Founder of People Strong and Board Member of Karmayogi Bharat; Prof Aditya Mittal, Dean of Student Affairs at IIT Delhi; and Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
