Millions of students sit for tests administered by India's National Testing Agency every year, yet the organisation created to restore confidence in the country's examination system now faces a crisis of its own.
When India established the National Testing Agency in 2017, it was intended to deliver fair, transparent and standardised examinations. Operating under the federal education ministry, the agency was designed to improve efficiency, consistency and trustworthiness after decades of paper leaks, administrative errors and widespread cheating allegations.
Over the following years, the NTA assumed responsibility for conducting some of India's most competitive and consequential tests: medical and engineering entrance examinations, university admissions assessments and eligibility tests for teaching and research positions.
Yet eight years after its creation, the organisation has become synonymous with the very problems it was meant to solve.
How did the latest crisis unfold?
In June 2026, more than two million students were forced to retake a critical medical entrance examination after the question paper was leaked. The incident sparked weeks of youth-led protests that ultimately led to the resignation of the federal education minister.
In response to the upheaval, the government appointed a high-level task force headed by tech entrepreneur Nandan Nilekali to recommend reforms and rebuild confidence in the examination system. According to government filings, the task force is expected to deliver its recommendations within three months.
For many Indians, however, the announcement felt familiar. A comparable panel had been established in 2024 after irregularities in another medical entrance examination triggered widespread unrest. That earlier committee proposed more than 100 reforms, yet external reports indicate that only just over half have been fully implemented.
The pattern has become predictable: an examination fails, students mobilise in protest, a committee is formed, reforms are proposed—and then another crisis exposes the same underlying weaknesses.
What are the structural problems?
Specialists consulted on the issue identify difficulties that extend far beyond individual paper leaks. The challenges span the NTA's accountability structures, institutional capacity, the centralisation of examinations, test design and whether India's entire high-stakes testing model requires fundamental rethinking.
BJ Rao, who served on the 2024 reform panel and now leads SGT University near Delhi, emphasises that India should accelerate its transition to computer-based examinations to reduce paper leak risks, improve operational efficiency and minimise human involvement in vulnerable processes.
Digital connectivity has vastly improved across the country, what we need to do is put in resources and focus on upgrading infrastructure and move to computer-based exams. We currently have ad hoc centres for conducting exams. We need to replace them with standardised state-controlled online centres.
Yet Rao cautions that technology alone cannot resolve the systemic issues. He points to a critical staffing problem: of the NTA's 221 employees, only 24 hold permanent positions, with many recruited from bureaucratic backgrounds rather than examination expertise. This reliance on temporary contract workers undermines institutional stability and professional accountability.
When you have a large portion of people who work on a temporary basis then there is no sense of belonging, and that has an impact on the functions as well. You need people who are well-versed in academia and experienced in conducting such assessments to ensure better management and oversight.
According to recent reporting, the NTA has begun dismissing staff members and recruiting professionals with relevant expertise following fresh criticism in August over multiple question-paper errors in UGC-NET examinations.
Could the exam design itself be the problem?
Some experts argue that recurring crises have exposed flaws not only in operational execution but also in how examinations are fundamentally structured. Keshav Aggarwal, an educationist and president of the Educators Federation, suggests that the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate)—the NEET-UG whose paper leak triggered this year's upheaval—could be redesigned along the model of India's engineering entrance examination, which operates as a computer-based test conducted across two stages.
Rather than depending on a single high-stakes test day, examinations could be administered across multiple sessions with different question sets, Aggarwal proposes. This approach would distribute risk and make the system more resilient to disruptions or cancellations.
Different stages and days with varying sets of questions would reduce the risks associated with any one examination and make the system more resilient to disruptions.
Specialists also question whether a single annual examination can function effectively when millions of students compete for a limited number of university places. Yamini Aiyar, senior visiting fellow at Brown University, contends that India should adopt a system permitting students to attempt important entrance examinations multiple times per year, as practised in several Western countries.
This would give students another chance if an exam is cancelled or they do not perform well, reducing the risk of losing an entire year.
For millions of Indian students, the stakes are extraordinarily high. Many dedicate years to preparation and spend tens of thousands of rupees on private coaching. A leaked, cancelled or delayed examination can suddenly destroy months or years of effort.
What do affected students say?
Pari, aged 17, confronted this uncertainty directly. After sitting the NEET examination this year, she was required to retake it after the original test was cancelled following a paper leak.
It was very frustrating. All our preparation had gone to waste, and we had to start all over again.
The experience left her frustrated with the pattern of repeated failures.
The government can form as many panels as it likes. We need a system strong enough to prevent paper leaks from happening again.
Mansi Bansal, 23, has endured a similar ordeal. She spent months preparing for the UGC-NET, a qualification required for entry-level college teaching positions. The examination was cancelled after a 2024 paper leak and again this year after the NTA identified errors in three subjects. Bansal sat the affected commerce paper and will retest on 9 September 2026.
I put my life on hold all these months, stopping going to the gym, hanging out with friends or even attending family gatherings. I had planned my entire year but now it has all gone into uncertainty. Can the government promise a leak won't happen again?
These experiences have fuelled demands from student activists and opposition politicians to dismantle the NTA entirely.
Should the NTA be abolished?
Educationists argue that dismantling the agency would not address the underlying systemic problems. M Jagadesh Kumar, former chairman of India's universities regulator, contends that the NTA requires deep structural reform to address recurring failures, but abolition is not the solution.
A single national testing body offers common security standards, technology, candidate services and result procedures. Creating many new agencies could duplicate costs and produce uneven safeguards. It is not a case of all bad news. The body has conducted several exams successfully, where we did not hear of any leaks.
What is required, Kumar argues, is a statutory institution staffed by specialists possessing the academic, technical and operational expertise necessary to operate a secure examination system.
What reforms are being implemented?
The government has begun implementing several immediate and longer-term security measures. According to filings to the Supreme Court, the NTA has made mandatory CCTV surveillance, footage retention for at least 90 days, mock drills, weather contingency planning and centre inspections in the week preceding tests.
The NTA has also outlined a longer-term shift toward computer-based examinations, multi-session testing, cloud infrastructure, artificial intelligence and blockchain tools, and in-house examination software development. Additionally, the Centre has approved a draft bill to toughen penalties for organised paper leaks, raising the maximum jail term from five to 10 years and the maximum fine from ₹1 crore to ₹10 crore.
A parliamentary report had previously warned about the outsourcing model and recommended encrypted digital delivery of question papers to secure servers at testing centres. A separate expert committee has proposed a "zero-trust" question-setting approach, where specialists submit questions to a central bank without knowing which examination they will be used for.
Is the problem bigger than the NTA?
For some experts, the debate ultimately transcends the NTA itself. Aiyar contends that the fundamental issue is not merely preventing the next paper leak, but whether a highly centralised testing system can manage the intense competition for limited educational opportunities.
The NTA may succeed in making examinations more secure, Aiyar suggests. However, it cannot, acting alone, transform a system in which millions of students compete for a restricted number of seats and a single examination can determine their future prospects.
Reform must extend beyond the NTA: India requires an examination system that is less dependent on one-off, high-stakes tests, provides students with multiple opportunities to demonstrate capability and can better withstand disruptions and crises.
Rao remains hopeful that the task force led by Nilekali will help address gaps in the existing system. Yet for many students, another committee offers limited reassurance unless it produces tangible changes they can observe and experience.
I am studying for my university entrance examination next year. In my head I am prepared that there might be a leak. But what can we do about it? I will prepare and hope for the best.
What happens next?
Fresh UGC-NET retests are scheduled for 9 September 2026 for English and Commerce papers and 10 September 2026 for Sociology. The Nilekali-led task force is expected to deliver its recommendations within three months of its formation, providing the government with a roadmap for comprehensive examination system reform.
