In 2017, India introduced the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct fair, transparent and standardised examinations. Set up under the federal education ministry, it was meant to make exams more efficient, consistent and trustworthy, after years of paper leaks, administrative errors and cheating allegations. Over the next few years, the agency took charge of some of India's largest and most competitive tests, including medical and engineering entrance examinations, university admissions and eligibility tests for teaching and research.
But eight years later, the organisation created to restore trust in India's exams is facing a crisis of confidence of its own. In June, more than two million students had to retake a crucial medical entrance examination after the paper was leaked. The fallout triggered weeks of youth-led protests which eventually led to the resignation of the federal education minister.
In response, the government appointed a high-level task force led by tech tycoon Nandan Nilekani to recommend reforms and restore confidence in the examination system. For many Indians, however, the announcement prompted a sense of déjà vu. A similar panel was established in 2024 after irregularities in another medical entrance examination sparked widespread unrest.
That committee proposed more than 100 reforms, a little over half of which, external have reportedly been fully implemented. The cycle has repeated: an exam goes wrong, students protest, a committee is appointed and reforms are proposed - only for another crisis to expose the same weaknesses. Experts the BBC spoke to say the problems go beyond paper leaks - from NTA's accountability and capacity to exam centralisation, design and whether India's high-stakes testing system needs a rethink.
BJ Rao, who was part of the 2024 panel and is now head of SGT University near Delhi, says India should move more decisively towards computer-based examinations to minimise the chances of paper leaks, increase efficiency and reduce human involvement wherever possible. "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," he told the BBC. "We currently have ad hoc centres for conducting exams.
We need to replace them with standardised state-controlled online centres." But technology alone will not solve the problem, he says. Rao points to the NTA's reliance on contract staff: just 24 of its 221 employees are permanent, with many from bureaucratic backgrounds, according to the government. "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.
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