SC seeks progress report from Nilekani panel on competitive exam reforms

The Supreme Court also indicated it could visit the NTA headquarters to assess its functioning, infrastructure, manpower and systems put in place for examinations

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Centre to submit a status report on the work undertaken by a high-powered committee headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to strengthen the security and credibility of competitive examinations.

 

A Bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe asked the Joint Secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), who is coordinating with the committee, to file an affidavit detailing the progress made so far.

 

The affidavit is to be submitted within two weeks, with the matter listed three weeks later.

 

The Bench also indicated that it could visit the National Testing Agency (NTA) headquarters to assess its functioning and infrastructure.

 

 

“We will come there one day, myself and my brother,” Justice Narasimha said.

 

The court was informed that the NTA has been allotted a permanent facility near Minto Road.

 

The Bench said a physical inspection would help determine whether the agency has adequate manpower and whether the systems put in place are functioning effectively.

 

The court also emphasised the need for a permanent workforce within the NTA, rather than relying predominantly on personnel deputed from other government departments.

 

“There should be permanent staff. Also your relationship with other working institutions, how you are collaborating with them, how much data is... Whether we need statutory backing,” the Bench observed.

 

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the court that the Nilekani-led committee had held extensive consultations with stakeholders and was expected to submit its report by the end of September.

 

The Bench, however, stressed that the exercise should result in institutional reforms rather than another report that remains on paper.

 

“The most important is institutionalisation,” the Bench said, adding that it would follow up on the committee's recommendations once its affidavit was placed on record.

 

Mehta assured the court that the government was committed to implementing the recommendations.

 

The Bench also highlighted the importance of incorporating inputs from domain experts while redesigning the examination system.

 

The proceedings arose from a batch of petitions concerning alleged irregularities and question-paper leaks associated with NEET-UG. One of the petitions, filed by the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), seeks restructuring or replacement of the NTA.

 

FAIMA has also proposed measures including digital locking of question papers, shifting NEET-UG to a computer-based testing (CBT) format and publishing centre-wise results to identify anomalies. It has separately submitted suggestions on implementing the transition to CBT.

 

Another petition by the United Doctors Front seeks the creation of a statutory national testing authority with greater oversight and accountability to Parliament.

 

A separate plea filed by RJD MP Sudhakar Singh, social activist Anubhav Garg, IMA national spokesperson Dhruv Chauhan and political leader Harisharan Devgan has also sought a shift of NEET-UG to CBT and replacement of the NTA with an independent examination authority.