Higher Education Secretary Visits New NTA Office Following Paper Leak Overhaul

Higher Education Secretary Deepti Gaur Mukherjee visited the new National Testing Agency office on Saturday to review the new infrastructure and administrative setup. The Ministry of Education shared on X that Mukherjee interacted with senior NTA officials, inspected operational facilities, and conducted a thorough review of the setup to ensure smooth upcoming exams. The agency moved its main office from Okhla in South East Delhi to a 55,524.53-square-foot space at the Government of India Press Building on Minto Road in Central Delhi. Confidential operations moved to this new government building last month to ensure the apex leadership and functional verticals sit in a secure premise with security mandated by the High-Level Committee. Supreme Court judges hearing the NEET-UG paper leak case also stated earlier that they will visit the new office to inspect security and infrastructure. These changes follow the NEET paper leak in May, which sparked massive protests at Jantar Mantar and led to the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The agency responded to the turmoil by removing about 600 staff members and updating its processes. NTA also told a court recently that it is shifting from an exam-centric framework to a functional vertical structure based on specific areas of expertise. Security at the new facility is being tightened with the Central Industrial Security Force deploying 39 personnel. The agency has also appointed a chief information security officer and reached an advanced stage in selecting a general manager for information security.

Context

The National Testing Agency conducts major national entrance tests for millions of students across India, making security and administrative reliability a high priority for public trust. Following recent exam controversies, the agency has faced intense judicial and public scrutiny regarding its ability to run secure testing operations.