To combat malpractices and boost security and efficiency in national entrance exams, a committee led by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan has proposed several reforms, including moving exams to an online or hybrid format.
The committee was formed in response to public outrage following a paper leak in the NEET-UG entrance exam earlier this year, which triggered widespread student protests against the National Testing Agency (NTA), responsible for conducting these exams.
For future exams, the committee has recommended a hybrid model wherever feasible, allowing the question paper to be accessed digitally while answers are written on paper. Specifically, for medical entrance exams, the panel has suggested implementing a multi-stage exam process. For the Common University Entrance Test (CUET), it recommended limiting subject choices to avoid redundancy for candidates who have already completed board exams.
The committee also suggested structural reforms within the NTA, including hiring additional permanent staff.
The panel, established by the government in July, aims to ensure exams conducted by the NTA are transparent, smooth, and fair. On October 21, the Centre requested two additional weeks from the Supreme Court to submit the panel’s final report.
Other panel members include former AIIMS Delhi director Randeep Guleria, Central University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor B J Rao, IIT Madras Professor Emeritus K Ramamurthy, People Strong co-founder and Karmayogi Bharat board member Pankaj Bansal, IIT Delhi Dean of Student Affairs Aditya Mittal, and MoE Joint Secretary Govind Jaiswal. IIT Kanpur’s Amey Karkare, professor of Computer Science and Engineering, and assistant professor Debapriya Roy were also included as members.
