The Crossbill News Desk
Amid mounting political and public debate following the cancellation of the NEET 2026 examination over allegations of a question paper leak linked to “guess papers”, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday (May 15) defended the government’s handling of the crisis and dismissed criticism contained in a parliamentary committee report reviewing the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA).
Addressing a press conference, Pradhan said the government would rely instead on the findings of the Radhakrishnan expert committee rather than the parliamentary standing committee on education, whose observations had questioned the credibility of the testing agency.
“I do not want to go by the observations of the parliamentary committee. I will go by the Radhakrishnan committee. I will go by facts, I don’t want to make political remarks,” said Pradhan.
“The Opposition members are in the parliamentary committee. You know better than me how they prepare the reports,” he added.
The minister’s remarks followed questions regarding the standing committee’s report, tabled in Parliament in December, which stated that the performance of the NTA in the previous year had “not inspired much confidence.”
The committee, chaired by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, comprises members from both the ruling party and the opposition.
Established in 2018, the NTA conducts several national-level entrance examinations, including engineering admissions tests and medical entrance exams.
The committee report highlighted repeated disruptions in recent examinations, noting, “It has been brought to the notice of the Committee that in the 3 year 2024 alone, of the 14 competitive examinations conducted by the NTA, at least five faced major issues and as result, three examinations viz. UGC-NET, CSIR-NET and NEET-PG had to be postponed, one examination viz. NEET-UG saw instances of paper leaks, and one examination i.e CUET (UG/PG) saw its results postponed.”
While announcing reforms, Pradhan reiterated that the government maintains “zero tolerance” towards irregularities and confirmed that computer-based testing would be introduced from next year.
However, the parliamentary panel had recommended expanding pen-and-paper examinations, citing long-standing leak-proof models such as CBSE and UPSC examinations, and advised that computer-based tests be conducted only at government-run or government-controlled centres rather than private facilities.
The controversy has intensified debate over examination governance, institutional accountability and political consensus in managing national entrance tests affecting millions of students across the country.
Addressing a press conference, Pradhan said the government would rely instead on the findings of the Radhakrishnan expert committee rather than the parliamentary standing committee on education, whose observations had questioned the credibility of the testing agency.
“I do not want to go by the observations of the parliamentary committee. I will go by the Radhakrishnan committee. I will go by facts, I don’t want to make political remarks,” said Pradhan.
“The Opposition members are in the parliamentary committee. You know better than me how they prepare the reports,” he added.
The minister’s remarks followed questions regarding the standing committee’s report, tabled in Parliament in December, which stated that the performance of the NTA in the previous year had “not inspired much confidence.”
The committee, chaired by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh, comprises members from both the ruling party and the opposition.
Established in 2018, the NTA conducts several national-level entrance examinations, including engineering admissions tests and medical entrance exams.
The committee report highlighted repeated disruptions in recent examinations, noting, “It has been brought to the notice of the Committee that in the 3 year 2024 alone, of the 14 competitive examinations conducted by the NTA, at least five faced major issues and as result, three examinations viz. UGC-NET, CSIR-NET and NEET-PG had to be postponed, one examination viz. NEET-UG saw instances of paper leaks, and one examination i.e CUET (UG/PG) saw its results postponed.”
While announcing reforms, Pradhan reiterated that the government maintains “zero tolerance” towards irregularities and confirmed that computer-based testing would be introduced from next year.
However, the parliamentary panel had recommended expanding pen-and-paper examinations, citing long-standing leak-proof models such as CBSE and UPSC examinations, and advised that computer-based tests be conducted only at government-run or government-controlled centres rather than private facilities.
The controversy has intensified debate over examination governance, institutional accountability and political consensus in managing national entrance tests affecting millions of students across the country.
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