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NTA Reports Rs 1065 Crore Fee Income Amidst Examination Controversies and Scrutiny

Education

NTA Reports Rs 1065 Crore Fee Income Amidst Examination Controversies and Scrutiny

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Formed in 2018, the National Testing Agency has continued to make headlines throughout this year as well, with repeated cancellations of entrance exams and allegations of paper leaks and irregularities. The controversies, including the NEET UG 2024 paper leak that reached the Supreme Court, put the agency’s operations under the scanner.

Vivek K Tankha, member of the Rajya Sabha from the INC, asked the Centre in the Lok Sabha on July 31 the total revenue generated to the NTA from the application forms and other services provided since its constitution.

Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education updated the agency’s financial status and told that NTA is financially self-sufficient with the help of examination fees. It has received fee income of Rs 1065.38 crore for FY 2023-24, and its total expenditure is Rs 1020.35 crore, stated Majumdar.

Since its inception, more than 240 examinations have been conducted by the NTA with the participation of over 5.4 crore candidates. This has firmly pushed up the financials since the introduction of CUET UG and PG tests in 2022. The fee income jumped from Rs 490.35 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 873.20 crore in 2022-23 and further to Rs 1065.38 crore in 2023-24.

The agency has underlined that there is much more to competitive exams than just dealing with operational and security measures ensuring fairness. There are a slew of services involved, from engaging specialized agencies for capturing biometric data, frisking, CCTV surveillance and AI analytics for impersonation detection.

NTA is an independent body headed by a Director General appointed by the Central Government under the Central Staffing Scheme. As of now, the organization has 22 employees on deputation, while 39 are on contract basis and another 132 outsourced. On the other hand, one employee has been absorbed from their parent department.

Notwithstanding the financial success, operational challenges and controversies surrounding the NTA underpin the need for continued scrutiny and reform if the integrity of this examination system is to be upheld.

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