NTA reforms | Administrations should deny permission for assemblies, processions on exam days: panel

File photo of Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports Chairman Mukul Wasnik | Photo credit: PTI

District administrations should deny permission for any rally, procession or public meeting on the days of crucial competitive examinations to ensure smooth operation and law and order well in advance and no candidate is affected by external disturbances, a parliamentary panel has recommended.

The recommendation was made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, headed by Rajya Sabha MP Mukul Wasnik, when it submitted a report on “Reforms and Strengthening of the National Testing Agency (NTA)” to the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha on Friday (October 9, 2026).

The report follows the controversy surrounding the NEET paper leak and alleged administrative lapses in the NTA, which led to nationwide student protests and ultimately the resignation of the then Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.

“Public assemblies, processions or large gatherings on the day of the examination may delay candidates and cause them to miss their reporting time. The Commission recommends that the Public Examinations (Prevention of Malpractice) Act, 2024 be amended to direct the district administration to deny permission to any assembly, procession or any other public assembly on the days of the examinations and ensure that the smooth flow of traffic at the examination venue is not affected outside an avoidable disorder,” the report states. The NTA has so far issued an advisory asking students to contact the centers in advance and make arrangements accordingly if such events are planned on examination days.

Addressing the procedural concerns raised before it, the parliamentary committee noted that candidates who arrive minutes late at examination centers are mostly denied entry altogether, leading to a waste of their year-long hard work with little delay.

“The commission notes that there are some genuine reasons for which a candidate may come late to the examination centre. The commission is of the view that some mechanism should be evolved to allow students to enter the examination hall after signing an undertaking recording their late arrival and be allowed to attempt the examination only for the remaining time without any extra time being given under any circumstances,” the commission said.

The jury also noted that the invigilators who sign and check formalities during the exam are distracting the students who are already racing against time.

“The commission is of the view that a separate 15-minute window, before or after the exam, will be kept exclusively for such formalities and not between the duration of the exam,” he said.

Published – 11 Oct 2026 13:32 IST