Who Tests the Testers?

NTA is losing trust. Mistakes in UGC-NET exams show a serious problem

The National Testing Agency (NTA) is facing another big problem. Three papers of UGC-NET, an important exam for people who want to teach in colleges or do PhDs, have been cancelled because of many mistakes.

The Sociology, English and Commerce papers had questions that had already appeared in 2024. There were also wrong names of famous scholars, incorrect book titles, grammar mistakes and translation errors. Students noticed these problems during the exam and complained, but the exams were still conducted.

What makes the situation worse is that NTA took about seven weeks to cancel the exams. By then, the papers had already been printed and held in around 300 cities, with thousands of students taking them.

The bigger question is: How were these mistakes allowed to happen in the first place?

NTA needs to explain who wrote the questions, who checked them and who gave the final approval. The mistakes are so basic that they raise questions about whether experts properly checked the papers. Some of the strange wording also raises questions about whether AI tools were used while preparing the papers, and if so, whether there were rules for using them.

Simply changing officials or appointing new people will not solve the problem. The entire system of preparing, checking, printing and conducting exams needs to be examined.

UGC-NET helps decide who is qualified to become teachers and researchers in India’s colleges and universities. If the agency conducting such an important exam cannot make sure that its questions are correct, can students trust the exam itself?

NTA must answer that question—and quickly.

END OF ARTICLE