CISF deployed to guard NTA premises following NEET paper leak
The National Testing Agency will now have Central Industrial Security Force personnel deployed at its premises following the NEET-UG question paper leak earlier this year. The move comes as NTA has recently relocated to a new office and will now be guarded by CISF to ensure foolproof arrangements in the confidential areas on its premises, according to officials.
The question paper leak of the medical entrance exam had sparked nationwide student protests and led to the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Following his resignation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the constitution of a high-powered task force headed by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani to recommend reforms to make the exam system leakproof. According to a CBI chargesheet, three subject experts were identified as primary sources of the paper leak, with investigators finding that there was no checking or frisking of experts during entry or exit from the confidential section at NTA, allowing them to take briefs from question papers on small pieces of paper.
NTA, set up in 2017 under the Ministry of Education, has shifted from its office in Okhla to a dedicated 55,000 square feet space in the Government of India Press Building on Minto Road. The enhanced security measures with CISF deployment and stricter monitoring protocols for confidential areas aim to prevent similar breaches in future examinations.
