Congress cites parliamentary panel report to attack NTA; Jairam Ramesh calls agency a “khokhla body”
Image credit X.com @EhsanKhanIYC
By TRH News Desk
Congress Cites Parliamentary Panel Report to Attack NTA, Education Ministry Over NEET Paper Leaks
New Delhi, October 11, 2026 — Congress general secretary (communications) Jairam Ramesh on Sunday seized on a parliamentary committee’s report on the National Testing Agency (NTA). He said the report catalogues “grave incompetence and malpractice” in the agency and the Ministry of Education.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Wasnik, presented its report, “Reforms and Strengthening of the National Testing Agency,” to the Rajya Sabha chairman on Friday. It follows the cancellation of the NEET-UG exam held on May 12 after a paper leak, and a re-examination on June 21.
Ramesh listed six highlights from the report in a statement.
Denial of leaks: He said the Ministry told the committee that no paper leak had occurred in an NTA-conducted exam between its formation in 2017 and 2025. He said at least nine leaks and irregularities are known and questioned how accountability is possible if the Ministry does not acknowledge what went wrong.
Limited oversight: The NTA is registered as a society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, not created by an Act of Parliament, which Ramesh said limits accountability and parliamentary oversight.
Staffing: Ramesh described the agency as a “khokhla body” that outsources key responsibilities to private contractors. He said it has only 39 sanctioned posts, of which 23 are filled, a 41 per cent vacancy. All posts are filled on deputation for two to three years, which he said prevents institutional expertise from developing.
Transparency: Despite repeated committee recommendations, there is no nationwide blacklist of firms with a record of failure in exam-related services, Ramesh said, so firms blacklisted in one state can win contracts elsewhere. He also said the NTA does not publish NEET-UG results in a publicly accessible form, unlike the UPSC, and releases no test-centre-wise data that could help detect anomalies.
Leadership gap: Between the NEET leaks of 2024 and 2026, the Director General’s post was held as an additional charge, Ramesh said, charging the Modi government with failing to appoint a full-time head.
Finances: The NTA earned a revenue surplus of Rs 590 crore and put it in fixed deposits, he said, instead of spending it on student assistance or exam infrastructure.
Ramesh added that the former Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, had dismissed the committee’s earlier recommendations because it “had members of the Opposition in it,” and expressed hope that the government would take the report seriously.
What the report recommends
Independent coverage of the report focuses on remedies. The panel recommended that the NTA invest in large question banks, set final papers close to the exam and rely on experts from institutions such as the IITs, AIIMS and IIMs. It also suggested a framework to make the NTA accountable to Parliament and a shift to computer-based testing for NEET-UG. It also proposes a public national registry of blacklisted exam vendors and government-owned exam centres.
The report’s adoption was not without friction. The committee adopted its draft unanimously in August, after opposition members sought statutory status for the NTA and NDA members objected. Standing committee recommendations are not binding and carry persuasive weight only.
Follow The Raisina Hills on WhatsApp, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and LinkedIn
About The Author
