The Supreme Court of India has asked the National Testing Agency to report on the status of the 2026 exam-reforms plan.
This directive follows a series of paper-leak scandals and student protests that undermined public trust in national entrance examinations. The court is seeking to ensure that systemic changes are permanent rather than temporary fixes.
The court said there should be "no more ad-hoc measures" regarding the overhaul of the examination system [2]. This demand highlights the judiciary's frustration with the agency's handling of previous crises and the slow implementation of recommended changes.
Beyond specific reform plans, the Supreme Court said there is a need to institutionalise the NTA and equip it with the adequate manpower required to run a unified national testing agency [1]. The court indicated that the agency cannot function effectively without a permanent structure and sufficient professional staff to manage the scale of national testing.
Concurrent with these structural demands, the NTA has taken steps to purge its internal expert panels. The agency fired 600 subject-expert members [4] as part of its broader effort to clean up the process and prevent future leaks.
The court's inquiry focuses on the implementation of recommendations made by the Radhakrishnan Committee [1]. These reforms were designed to secure the integrity of the NEET-UG and other high-stakes exams after significant irregularities were uncovered.
The National Testing Agency must now provide a detailed update to the center and the court on how these institutional changes are being integrated into the agency's daily operations [3].
“No more ad-hoc measures”
The Supreme Court's intervention signals a shift from treating exam leaks as isolated criminal incidents to treating them as a systemic institutional failure. By demanding the 'institutionalization' of the NTA, the court is pushing for a transition from a temporary or loosely structured body to a formal government entity with permanent staffing and accountability mechanisms. This move aims to eliminate the reliance on external contractors or temporary experts who may be vulnerable to corruption.
