3 min readNew DelhiMay 19, 2026 04:03 AM IST
THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports, headed by Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, has decided to review the implementation of a high-level committee report on reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the investigation into the alleged NEET-UG paper leak this year.
Vineet Joshi, Secretary in the Education Ministry’s Department of Higher Education, and NTA chairperson Pradeep Kumar Joshi are scheduled to appear before the committee on May 21.
The committee will review the implementation of a 2024 report submitted by a seven-member committee headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan. The committee, constituted after a NEET-UG paper leak in 2024, had recommended measures to strengthen the NTA and ensure smooth conduct of public exams.
In a report presented in Parliament last year, on a review of autonomous bodies and institutions like the NTA and NAAC, the standing committee had noted that the NTA “has not inspired much confidence”. The report noted that the Agency collected Rs 3,512.98 crore in the last six years, and spent Rs 3,064.77 crore, with a surplus of Rs 448 crore. The panel recommended that this sum be used to build the NTA’s capabilities to conduct tests itself, or strengthen regulatory and monitoring capabilities for its vendors.
Privilege notice against Pradhan
PTI adds: Congress chief whip in the Rajya Sabha Jairam Ramesh on Monday moved a privilege notice against Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan for allegedly lowering the dignity of Parliament with remarks made at a press conference after the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak.
Last week, while addressing a press conference, Pradhan was asked about the issues that the Parliamentary Standing Committee had flagged in its report last year. Pradhan had said: “I will not go by the opinion of the parliamentary committee. I will go by the recommendation of the Radhakrishnan committee…I will proceed based on facts; we won’t talk about assumptions. In political tones…I will respond in Parliament… The parliamentary standing committee has Opposition members. They write in a certain way, you also know that.”
In response, Singh posted on X: “The Minister’s statement is deeply disturbing and highly condemnable. The fact is that of the 30 Members of Parliament in the Committee, 17 are from the BJP itself. Both our reports pertaining to the NTA — Report 364 and Report 371 — were adopted unanimously by the Committee. In fact, the Committee’s recommendations include a reiteration of the K Radhakrishnan Expert Committee report that the Minister cites. The Minister’s refusal to acknowledge the Parliamentary Standing Committee is a dismissal of his own party’s MPs and the Indian Parliament’s bipartisan traditions.”
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