New Delhi, 12 May (H.S.): The Congress has raised serious questions about the existence and functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA) after the cancellation of the NEET‑UG 2026 examination. Party General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh said repeated paper‑leaks and exam cancellations are fresh evidence of the NTA’s failure, casting serious doubt on its original purpose and operational capability.

In an X post, Jairam Ramesh recalled that the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports had noted in its 371st Report that, in 2024 alone, five out of the 14 national examinations conducted by the NTA were marred by paper‑leaks and irregularities.

For JEE Main 2025, 12 questions had to be withdrawn due to errors in the answer key, while repeated delays in the CUET examination disrupted university academic calendars and pushed students toward private universities.

The Congress leader added that the NTA has consistently failed to submit annual reports to Parliament and has restricted itself to providing only audited financial statements. He said the government dismantled older admission processes and imposed a centralised system allegedly riddled with corruption, while ensuring that the NTA remained insulated and unaccountable to Parliament.

Ramesh pointed out that on 16 June 2024 the then Education Minister had acknowledged that the NTA needed “a lot of reform.” Two years on, he questioned what concrete action had been taken after that admission. “It is now clear that mere reform is not enough,” he said, “a structural overhauling of the NTA and its entire ecosystem is essential so that it can be taken out of the corrupt grip of the Modi government.”

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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar