New Delhi: In a significant shift for the country’s examination ecosystem, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Tuesday that the National Testing Agency (NTA) will no longer conduct recruitment examinations starting next year. Instead, the NTA will focus solely on higher education entrance tests, streamlining its core responsibilities and reinforcing the reliability of these critical evaluations.

“From 2025 onward, the NTA will be limited to conducting only entrance exams for higher education and will not conduct any recruitment exams,” said Minister Pradhan. The move follows recommendations from a high-level panel formed earlier this year, which was tasked with suggesting reforms to enhance the integrity and efficiency of the country’s examination framework.

The panel’s recommendations came in the wake of concerns over exam leaks and cancellations—most notably, the alleged leak of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET). Against this backdrop, the restructuring of the NTA aims to restore public confidence in the testing process and ensure zero-error assessments.

As part of the reforms, the NTA will undergo a comprehensive organizational overhaul. According to the education minister, at least ten new posts will be created, and several procedural changes will be introduced to strengthen the agency’s internal operations. The Common University Entrance Test (CUET-UG), introduced as a single-window assessment for undergraduate admissions, will continue to be conducted once a year.

Additionally, discussions are underway with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to determine whether NEET—currently a pen-and-paper examination—should transition to a computer-based format. The education ministry is also exploring the integration of computer-adaptive testing and other technology-driven solutions to modernize the examination process, thereby reducing the scope of human error and misconduct.

Overall, these reforms signal a strategic pivot towards more secure, reliable, and future-ready testing systems that the government hopes will uphold academic standards and public trust in high-stakes examinations.