Supreme Court makes NTA publish its reform affidavit — and it is worth reading
On 21 September the testing agency put the Union government’s affidavit on its website, on the Supreme Court’s direction, so that stakeholders can see what has actually changed since the exam-leak cases. The next hearing is 9 October.
Students who sit NTA examinations have spent two years being told that the agency is being fixed. On 21 September the agency published the document that says how — the Union of India's affidavit, placed on its web portal on the direction of the Supreme Court so that, in the court's words, the progress made can be seen by other stakeholders.
How it came to be published
The affidavit was filed by the Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, pursuant to an earlier order. The matter was heard on 18 September 2026 by a bench of the Supreme Court in a cluster of petitions against the National Testing Agency, with the Solicitor General appearing for the respondents. The court directed NTA to place the affidavit on its portal.
What the court quoted from it
The order itself reproduces the most concrete claims. NTA, it records, "is transitioning from exam-specific units to functional vertical structure to build specialized, domain-specific capabilities across core operational areas." On leadership:
- NTA is now headed by a Secretary-level officer as Director General, supported by cross-cadre officers from the IAS, IPS and IRS.
- Senior leadership also draws officers from the Indian Statistical Service, Indian Ordnance Factory Service and Indian Supply Service.
- There has been open-market recruitment of domain specialists in security, human resources and research and development.
The building
The detail that will stay with most readers is physical. Confidential operations have been moved to a dedicated 55,524 sq ft government facility at Minto Road, New Delhi, protected by 39 CISF personnel, X-ray screening, metal detectors and strict access-control protocols. An examination agency that now guards its question papers the way an airport guards a terminal is an admission of how the old arrangement failed.
What happens next
- The Joint Secretary, DoPT, who is coordinating with the High-Powered Task Force, must file an affidavit on the committee's progress within two weeks.
- The court has invited suggestions from counsel and stakeholders, to be sent to the advocate named in the order at [email protected].
- The matter is listed next on 9 October 2026.
That email address is not a formality. A court supervising the reform of the agency that runs NEET, JEE Main, CUET and UGC NET has opened a channel for stakeholder suggestions, and students, teachers and parents are stakeholders.
CareerBox News Desk — reporting on the order of the Supreme Court of India dated 18 September 2026 and the affidavit of the Union of India published by the National Testing Agency on 21 September 2026. Official portal: nta.ac.in. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.