The Centre has approved the creation of a National Testing Agency to conduct entrance exams into institutions of higher education.The National Testing Agency will act as an autonomous, self-sustaining organisation and will conduct entrance exams. Some of the exams which would be conducted by NTA will be JEE Main, NEET UG, UGC NET, CTET, etc.
The National Testing Agency was suggested by Arun Jaitley in the 2017 Budget session. It was announced in March along with a number of other reforms including restructuring the UGC and online courses for schools and colleges.
The exams will be conducted online and will likely be conducted twice a year. So far entrance exams like JEE Main or NEET UG are conducted only once a year. The agency would cater to about 40 lakh students who appear in various entrance exams. NTA will ensure that exams have a standardized difficulty level.
The prospect of the entrance exams twice a year will bring relief to students who often have to face undue pressure specially for exams like JEE and NEET which are conducted immediately after the board exams are over.
The agency would function as an autonomous body and will be chaired by an educationist who will be appointed by the MHRD and will be created as a society registered under the Indian Societies Registration Act, 1860. Government has allocated a fund of Rs. 25 crore for NTA to begin operation in the first year. From its second year, the agency will become self-sustainable
(With inputs from ANI and NDTV)
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