Former ISRO chief Radhakrishnan to head panel formed to monitor examinations amid NEET row.

 

Education Ministry

 

Facing protests in several parts of the country as well as attacks from the opposition, the Centre has removed the chief of the National Testing Agency (NTA) from his post amid the controversy over the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and the cancellation of the UGC-NET Exam.

In a statement on Saturday, the Ministry of Personnel announced that Subodh Kumar Singh, who was the director general of the NTA, has been replaced by retired Indian Administration Service (IAS) officer Pradeep Singh Kharola. Mr Kharola is the Chairman and Managing Editor of the India Trade Promotion Organisation and has been given additional charge as the director general of the NTA “till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders”.

“The committee will make recommendations on reforming the mechanism of the examination process and improving data security protocols and the structure and functioning of NTA [National Testing Agency],” the Ministry of Education said in a press release.

The NTA is an autonomous body that conducts several entrance exams including NEET and UGC-NET.

Who are the expert panel members?

Koppillil Radhakrishnan, the former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman and Chairman BoG, IIT Kanpur, will head the high-level committee of experts to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations.

Who is K Radhakrishnan?

Radhakrishnan is the former chairman of the Indian space agency ISRO. He was born on August 29, 1949 in Kerala’s Irinjalakuda. He assumed the concomitant responsibilities of Chairman of Space Commission and Secretary, Department of Space, Government of India as well as the Chairman of ISRO Council (Chairman, ISRO) on November 1, 2009.

“In order to ensure transparent, smooth and fair conduct of examinations through National Testing Agency (NTA), department of higher education, ministry of education constituted a high-level committee of experts to make recommendations on Reform in mechanism of examination process improvement in data security protocols and structure and functioning of National Testing Agency,” the ministry said.
The committee will make recommendations on reform in the mechanism of the examination process, improvement in data security protocols and structure and functioning of NTA.

Who is in the committee?

The 7-member committee will be headed by former Isro chief Dr K Radhakrishnan. The committee also includes Dr Randeep Guleria, Prof B J Rao, Prof. Ramamurthy K, Pankaj Bansal, Aditya Mittal, Govind Jaiswal.

74 students scored centum in NEET UG since inception, 91% of them cleared the exam in 2024

Committee members also include Randeep Guleria, former Director, AIIMS Delhi, and Govind Jaiswal, Joint Secretary, Education Ministry. Jaiswal will be the Member Secretary. There are three other experts from various premier educational institutes that include, BJ Rao, Vice-Chancellor, Central University of Hyderabad; Ramamurthy K, Professor Emeritus, Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, and Aditya Mittal, Dean Student Affairs, IIT Delhi.

Pankaj Bansal, Co-Founder, People Strong and Board Member, Karmayogi Bharat, is the seventh member.

Reforming The Exam Process
According to the terms of reference, the seven-member committee will make recommendations on reforming the examination process, improvement in data security protocols, and re-work on the structure and functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Incidentally, NTA, which conducts these competitive and other admission exams in the country, has been under-fire over the alleged paper leaks and other irregularities. The concerns have sparked country-wide protests by students, their parents, political party workers and others.

The committee will primarily propose comprehensive reforms aimed at improving the examination process, bolstering data security protocols, and evaluating the structure and operations of the NTA.

The panel also includes renowned figures such as former Director of AIIMS Delhi Randeep Guleria, Vice Chancellor of Central University of Hyderabad B J Rao. among others.

They will evaluate the current data security protocols of the NTA, aiming to strengthen these protocols and ensure the integrity of paper-setting and other examination-related procedures.

Recommendations on the organisational structure and functioning of the NTA will also be proposed to align with the envisioned reforms.

Furthermore, the committee will assess the grievance redressal mechanism within the NTA, identifying areas for improvement and suggesting measures to enhance efficiency in handling student grievances.