National Testing Agency may conduct entrance exams: Javadekar

A specialised agency may conduct entrance exam for admission to IITs, other engineering colleges and UGC-NET and a platform will be launched next month to offer up to 2,000 courses online, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar said.
He said the National Testing Agency, announced in the Union Budget, may conduct various exams currently held by an "overburdened" CBSE.
It is not the task of the CBSE to conduct these exams, the minister said.
The National Testing Agency may also free up IITs and AICTE that currently conduct exams for admission to engineering colleges in India.
"The outline of the agency's structure will be prepared shortly," officials said.

Also, Javadekar said, the government will next month launch the 'Swayam-MOOCS' platform on which up to 2,000 new courses will be offered online.

He said the Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCS) platform is for "anytime and anywhere learning" and credit framework for it is being developed.
An outreach awareness programme for Swayam and DTH channels will be prepared to make them more acceptable to stakeholders, officials said.
They said MOOCS will be blended with open and distance learning (ODL) system for better communication and learning structures as a platform of the future.