Want NTA to become ‘a vibrant institution like UPSC’: Supreme Court to Centre

The bench, which included Justice Alok Aradhe, was hearing petitions seeking restructuring of the NTA in the wake of the NEET-UG paper leak.

“We are informed that the Nandan Nilekani committee, which has been constituted to recommend end-to-end reforms focusing on leveraging advanced technology like AI and blockchain to strengthen security and integrity in examinations, has convened a meeting to consider various recommendations…We direct the Secretary to file an affidavit indicating in detail the steps that have been taken to implement the suggestions made by the Radhakrishnan committee, as reflected and nuanced by the Nandan Nilekani committee. This affidavit, containing all details and indicative timelines, shall be filed within a period of three weeks from today,” the court said in its order.

Justice Narasimha said the Nilekani committee must “review the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan committee” and improve upon it if necessary.

“Why we are saying this is, the reason is this: You can’t get into this — one committee gives recommendations, and then lock, stock and barrel, we leave it, and another committee starts. And then, yet another committee starts. There must be some continuity… Let the new committee go into the recommendations made by the Radhakrishnan committee,” he said, adding that Radhakrishnan could also be made a part of the new committee.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared for the Centre, said he had already spoken to the government on this.

Justice Narsimha pointed out that there were two more committees, before the Radhakrishnan committee, and added that the recommendations must not remain on paper but “must translate into action”.

The bench, which perused a progress report filed by the Centre through Mehta, said it is “concerned about the institutionalisation of the Agency (NTA) with all necessary infrastructure, manpower and other technological capabilities.”

“Maintaining the integrity of the exams is what we are concerned about…how do we institutionalise? You have to train and prepare the personnel for times to come, not just for one examination, (put in place) candidate-friendly arrangements, grievance mechanism… Then strengthening physical and intellectual capacity. This is the most important,” Justice Narasimha said. He underlined the need to secure office premises and operational infrastructure.

The court also pointed to the need to ensure digital security, saying that technology keeps changing with every exam. Justice Narasimha asked whether the NTA has a sovereign database. “Where are you going to store the question papers… So for that, you need to develop your infrastructure, you need to have you entire base ready,” he said, adding, “what needs to be put in place is a vibrant system, institutionalistaion”.

Mehta apprised the court about the logistical improvements put in place to prevent paper leaks. He submitted that “the system in place is foolproof but at some point, there is human interventions”.

Justice Narasimha said the logistical arrangements were already dealt with by the Radhakrishnan committee “which has very correctly said it’s a systemic problem” and suggested measures for institutionalisation.

Mehta said the government had already accepted the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan committee.

“So where is the body (NTA)? How many officers are there? Where is the office situated? How much staff available,” the bench asked, saying these are matters that the court is “seriously concerned with”.

The court also sought to know if the various positions of directors and joint director at the NTA had been filled. “Have all those directors and joint directors been appointed, how many have taken charge? Is there a premises, where is it,” the bench asked.

Mehta said the process of hiring for scaling up digital infrastructure was going on, and he had been told that the chief technology officer and chief financial officer have already been selected.

While the government set up the Radhakrishnan committee to overhaul the NTA and reform the exam process in 2024 following an earlier NEET-UG paper leak, the Nilekani task force on exam reforms was announced last month, following the protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over the latest leak.