NTA Under Fire: 47 Officials Removed Amid Escalating Paper Leak Controversy, CJP Protest

IN A SIGNIFICANT MOVE amid the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party Protest, the National Testing Agency (NTA) terminated 47 officials on July 24, 2026. This termination is being described as a “major overhaul” of the NTA, following a series of recent examination controversies including the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak issue.

At least 47 people have been removed from the testing body. Action will also be taken against some of them, sources said, without giving details about their responsibilities or designations. The agency said: “These measures represent the first concrete step in the institutional rebuild of NTA. Further recruitment and empowerment actions across the ten functional departments recommended by the High-Level Committee of Experts will follow in the coming weeks.”

NTA Begins Restructuring After Paper Leak Controversy

The overhauling of the NTA is a part of a wider restructuring of the examination body headed by the former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairperson K Radhakrishnan. One of the crucial changes include tweaking the NTA's outsourcing methods in order to ensure that there will be no paper leaks in the future, sources said. The decision comes a day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a fast-track courts to try paper leak controversies.

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The government established the National Testing Agency in 2017 as a self-sustained and autonomous testing agency to conduct entrance examinations for admission and fellowship in higher educational institutions. According to sources, a committee of experts will suggest the modifications to refresh the NTA as a more efficient organisation. The NTA conducts at least 20 national-level examinations across the country, including JEE, NEET, and CUET.

NTA Issues Advertisements For Vacancies

The NTA has also invited applications for four newly created general manager posts covering assessment research and psychometrics, test centre network and operations, information security, and vigilance, investigation and forensics. The agency has advertised 16 young professional vacancies through the Union Public Service Commission’s Pratibha Setu portal.

The recruitment drive conducted by NTA is aimed at reducing the agency’s dependence on contractual and outsourced staff members. Out of NTA’s 39 sanctioned permanent posts—all to be filled on deputation—only 24 are occupied. Currently, the National Testing Agency functions with 73 contractual employees and 124 outsourced personnel. 

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The Union Government has informed the Parliament that the NTA has only 24 positions of its 39 sanctioned permanent posts filled, with the remaining 15 laying vacant, even as the agency continues to conduct large-scale national entrance examinations across the country.

CJP Protest Keeps Getting Worse

Recently, ACP Vivek Bhagat was injured in the CJP protest and was brought into the emergency ward at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML) with bruises across both his arms and legs. The police officials said that the situation at Jantar Mantar has been deteriorating since Monday, July 20, 2026,  when the CJP held a Parliament march that ended with police personnel using lathi-charges and tear gas on the students and protestors to stop them.

(Proofread by Khushboo Singh)

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