National Testing Agency

National Testing Agency (NTA) is an Indian government agency that has been approved by the Union Council of Ministers and established in November 2017 to conduct entrance examinations for higher educational institutions.[1][2] The government appointed Vineet Joshi as the first Director-General of the agency. NTA is responsible for conducting the Joint Entrance Examination – Main (JEE Main), National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET UG), National Eligibility Test (NET), Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) and Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT).

National Testing Agency
AbbreviationNTA
MottoExcellence in Assessment
EstablishedNovember 2017 (2017-11)
Legal statusOperational
PurposeTo conduct various entrance examinations nationwide
Websitehttps://nta.ac.in/

History

The roots of the agency can be traced to the Programme of Action 1992, related to National Policy of Education 1986, which mentioned conducting national level common entrance tests to professional and non-professional programmes of study.[3] Its actual start was in 2010 with a report submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) by a committee consisting of some of the directors of the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), which recommended that the national testing agency be "created by an Act of Parliament". The report mentioned that a statutory agency can ensure independence and transparency in testing of the magnitude that is being envisaged.[4] In 2013 the MHRD constituted a seven member task force to "prepare a blue print for creating a special purpose vehicle to take the concept of National Testing Agency (NTA) forward". This was following a decision made in April 2013 to set up the agency. In 2017 an announcement about NTA was made by the Finance Minister in the budget speech of 2017, and this was followed by cabinet approval.[5]

On 7 July 2018, Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar stated during a press conference that the NTA will be holding the Joint Entrance Examination – Main (JEE Main) and the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET UG) twice a year, and will also be holding National Eligibility Test (NET), Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) and Graduate Pharmacy Aptitude Test (GPAT).[6]

Finance

Union cabinet has granted an initial amount of ₹25 crore (equivalent to ₹28 crore or US$4.0 million in 2019) to NTA[7] to start its operations in the first year.

Members

The NTA will be chaired by an eminent educationist who will be appointed by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. There will be a Board of Governors comprising members from user institutions. The CEO will be Director General (DG) appointed by Government and will be assisted by 9 verticals of academicians and experts.

The administration of the NTA has been entrusted to the Governing Body.[8]

References
  1. "NTA: How one of world's biggest 'exam agencies' is making tests smarter".
  2. "Centre approves creation of National Testing Agency". The Hindu. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  3. "Programme on Action 1992" (PDF). Mhrd.gov.in. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-12-15. Retrieved 2018-11-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Cabinet approves creation of National Testing Agency". Currentaffairs.gktoday.in. 11 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  6. "JEE Main 2019 To Be Held Online, Twice By National Testing Agency (NTA): Check Complete Schedule Here". Ndtv.com. New Delhi Television. 8 July 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
  7. "Centre approves creation of National Testing Agency". The Hindu. 10 November 2017.
  8. "Governing Body". Nta.ac.in. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
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