What are the functions of NTA?

The functions of NTA include identifying partner institutes with sufficient infrastructure facilities for online examinations, creating comprehensive question banks, setting up research & development centres, providing quality testing services, etc. Below are listed the functions of NTA

• Searching for partner institutions from the existing schools and higher education institutions, with sufficient infrastructure will ease conducting the online examination without impacting their academic schedule.
• Responsible for framing question banks for all subjects using modern techniques.
• Establishing a strong R&D culture as well as a pool of experts in various aspects of testing.
• Provides quality testing services to academic institutions all over India.
• Provides training and advisory services to Indian institutions which help individual colleges and universities in the field of testing.
• Advises using domestic and international expertise to develop a state-of-the-art culture of testing in India which helps collaborating with international organisations like ETS to achieve the same.
• To undertake any other examination assigned to it by the Departments of Government of India/State Governments/Ministries.
• Initiating reform and training in school boards as well as other bodies where testing standards should be comparable to entrance exams.

What are the exams conducted under NTA?

The major examinations conducted under the National Testing Agency, NTA are UGC NET, CUET, JEE (Main), NEET – UG, CMAT, GPAT, etc. On the behalf of University Grants Commission (UGC), NTA organises the National Eligibility Test (NET) exam, this exam is conducted to determine Indian Eligibility in Indian institutions for Assistant Professor only or Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor. The UGC-NET (for Eligibility for Assistant Professor only or Junior Research Fellowship & Eligibility for Assistant Professor both), is being conducted under the NTA from Dec 2018 onwards. The award of JRF and Eligibility for Assistant Professor both OR Eligibility for Assistant Professor only depends on how a candidate has performed in both the papers of NET in aggregate. However, candidates who have specifically qualified for Assistant Professor will not be considered for JRF.

Why these days NTA is in the news?

The National Testing Agency (NTA) is in the news these days because the UGC NET examination 2024 conducted by it on June 18, 2024, got cancelled due to a compromise of the integrity of the exam. The Ministry of Education also wrote on Twitter, a social media platform that, “The Government is committed to ensuring the sanctity of examinations and protecting the interest of students. The Ministry of Education has decided that the UGC-NET June 2024 Examination be cancelled on the basis of inputs from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, prima facie indicating that the integrity of the examination may have been compromised.”

Who is the chairman of NTA?

As of now the chairman of the National Testing Agency, NTA is Prof. (Retd.) Pradeep Kumar Joshi. The NTA team includes Shri Subodh Kumar Singh, IAS Director General (NTA) and the three directors of IITs, two directors of NITs, two directors of IIMs, the Director of IISER Pune, the Vice Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Vice Chancellor, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Chairman, National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and Dr. Harish Shetty, M.D. (Psychiatry), Dr. LH Hiranandani Hospital.