Unaddressed challenges: On India’s crisis in education

Source: The post “Unaddressed challenges: On India’s crisis in education” has been created based on “Unaddressed challenges: On India’s crisis in education” published in “The Hindu” on 30 July 2026. Unaddressed challenges: On India’s crisis in education.

UPSC Syllabus: GS 2- Polity and Governance

Context: India’s examination system has repeatedly faced crises that have raised serious concerns regarding its credibility, fairness, and institutional capacity. In response, the government has recently constituted a task force that has been entrusted with implementing the recommendations of the K. Radhakrishnan Committee (October 2024), many of which have remained pending for nearly eighteen months.

Key Reforms Proposed for the National Testing Agency (NTA)

1. The committee has recommended converting the NTA into a statutory institution on the lines of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
2. It has proposed a new leadership structure comprising a Director General and two Additional Directors General.
3. The reforms envisage ten specialised functional verticals dealing with cybersecurity, psychometrics, forensics, logistics, and other critical areas.
4. The committee has recommended establishing one thousand standardized testing centres across the country.
5. It has proposed a Digi-Exam framework integrating Aadhaar authentication, facial recognition, biometric verification, and continuous surveillance.
6. It has also recommended gradually shifting towards continuous, computer-adaptive testing instead of relying entirely on a single high-stakes examination.
7. The committee observed that regulatory bodies such as the National Medical Commission (NMC) and the IITs currently function as passive clients in the examination process.

Challenges in Implementing the Reforms

1. Recruitment for the proposed institutional structure is expected to take six to twelve months, slowing implementation.
2. Government pay scales are insufficient to attract highly skilled professionals from the private sector.
3. The creation of new cadres requires legislative approval, further delaying institutional reforms.
4. These constraints make the target of fully implementing reforms before NEET 2027 particularly challenging.

Why the Crisis is More than a Technical Problem

1. The proposed reforms mainly focus on technology, surveillance, cybersecurity, logistics, and administrative capacity.
2. The task force is dominated by experts in technology, space research, intelligence, public administration, and logistics, while having only one academic member from IIT Madras.
3. The limited participation of career educators and assessment researchers prevents meaningful debate on what examinations should actually assess.
4. The government appears to have accepted the existing examination model without questioning whether the current system remains appropriate.

Structural Weaknesses in the Examination System

1. The recurring examination crises reflect weaknesses in educational institutions rather than merely failures in examination administration.
2. Unlike JEE Advanced, whose integrity is ensured through the active involvement of IIT faculty, the NTA lacks comparable academic ownership in conducting examinations.
3. JEE Advanced emphasizes fresh application of fundamental concepts, whereas NEET relies significantly on algorithmically assembled question banks.
4. The continued dependence on question banks strengthens the coaching industry and creates greater opportunities for malpractice.
5. The editorial suggests that one of the leading AIIMS institutions could be entrusted with preparing the NEET question paper every year to improve academic credibility.
6. Regulatory institutions such as the National Medical Commission and the IITs should become active partners in designing and conducting examinations rather than remaining passive stakeholders.
7. Similar concerns are evident in issues such as the CBSE marking controversy, which also reflects deeper institutional shortcomings instead of isolated technical failures.

Way Forward

1. The National Testing Agency should be transformed into a professionally managed statutory institution with adequate financial, technological, and human resources.
2. Career educators, assessment researchers, and subject experts should play a central role in designing examinations that assess conceptual understanding, analytical ability, and higher-order thinking.
3. Academic institutions such as the IITs and leading AIIMS institutions should be given greater responsibility in question paper setting and examination design to strengthen academic ownership.
4. The examination system should gradually transition towards continuous and computer-adaptive testing to reduce the excessive dependence on a single high-stakes examination.
5. Recruitment processes should be expedited, and competitive remuneration should be offered to attract experts in cybersecurity, psychometrics, data science, and educational assessment.
6. Regulatory bodies and premier educational institutions should be actively involved in examination governance instead of functioning merely as passive stakeholders.
7. Reforms should balance technological safeguards with measures that strengthen institutional autonomy, transparency, and accountability.
8. The government should prioritize building strong, autonomous, and academically driven educational institutions, as lasting examination reforms depend on institutional quality rather than technological solutions alone.

Conclusion: India’s examination crisis is fundamentally an institutional and educational challenge rather than merely a technological or administrative problem. While technological reforms can improve the integrity and security of examinations, sustainable solutions require strong academic institutions, greater involvement of educators in assessment design, and autonomous governance mechanisms. Only a comprehensive approach that combines institutional reform with technological innovation can ensure a fair, credible, and resilient examination system capable of serving the objectives of quality education.

Question: “India’s recurring examination crises reflect deeper structural weaknesses in its education system rather than merely technical failures.” Discuss in the context of the reforms proposed for the National Testing Agency (NTA).

Source: The Hindu