India Overhauls National Testing Agency, Purges 600 Experts and Deploys Paramilitary Security After Leaks

NEW DELHI — In a sweeping response to mounting integrity scandals and widespread student protests, the Indian Ministry of Education has ordered an immediate and aggressive restructuring of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The high-stakes overhaul involves the purging of 600 subject experts from evaluation panels, the enforcement of a rigid four-tier question paper checking mechanism, and the deployment of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) to secure the agency's headquarters.

The emergency measures follow a string of high-profile examination flaws and paper leaks—including recent translation and formatting defects found in major national tests like the UGC-NET and the fallout from the NEET-UG scandals—which severely dented public confidence and triggered mass political demonstrations.

Tightened Scrutiny and Paramilitary Protection

Under the newly instituted directives reviewed by Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi, the NTA is dismantling its legacy operational framework. Key elements of the reform include:

 * Four-Tier Verification: Every examination paper must now pass through four distinct levels of rigorous scrutiny to preemptively catch factual, linguistic, translation, and typographical errors before finalization.

 * Paramilitary Lockdown: Agency offices are being relocated to new facilities on a "war footing," backed by the permanent deployment of armed CISF personnel to safeguard sensitive zones.

 * Confidential Operations (CONOPS) Redesign: The agency is overhauling its internal security protocols by implementing strictly isolated "air-gapped" computer systems (completely cut off from external networks), mandating device-deposit protocols, and utilizing secluded, monitored drafting rooms.

 * Leadership Purge: Alongside the removal of 600 panelists, over 50 internal staff members have been replaced, with recruitment underway for specialized domain leaders in cybersecurity, psychometrics, and test security.

The Ministry has mandated a comprehensive process audit, signaling a zero-tolerance approach as India seeks to restore credibility to its centralized testing apparatus, which handles the futures of millions of university and professional course applicants annually.