Centre appoints four senior officers to NTA amid leadership revamp after NEET-UG paper leak row
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Centre appoints four senior officers to NTA amid leadership revamp after NEET-UG paper leak row")
Aspirants leave the examination centre after appearing for the NEET 2026 exam at Maharani College in Jaipur on May 3 Photograph: (ANI (File Photo)
The NTA also plans to hire three specialist officers for senior leadership positions, including Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and General Manager (Human Resources).
The Ministry of Education has announced a series of administrative and structural reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) aimed at strengthening the functioning, transparency and credibility of the examination body following the controversy surrounding the alleged leak of NEET-UG 2026 question papers.
According to an official statement issued by the NTA, four senior officers from the Government of India have been posted to the agency in recent days. The appointments include two officers at the Joint Secretary rank, who will serve as Additional Director Generals, along with two officers at the Director level.
The Ministry said the move is intended to reinforce the agency’s leadership structure by bringing in experienced administrators from central services and inter-ministerial backgrounds.
NTA to recruit CTO, CFO and HR head
The NTA also announced plans to appoint three specialist officers for key leadership roles, including Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Finance Officer (CFO) and General Manager (Human Resources).
According to the agency, the CTO will oversee the digital examination ecosystem, including candidate-facing systems, biometric authentication, impersonation detection mechanisms powered by artificial intelligence, cybersecurity infrastructure and the modernisation of the NTA’s technology framework in coordination with agencies such as NIC, C-DAC, CERT-In and MeiTY.
Trending Stories
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
The CFO will supervise financial governance, treasury management, statutory compliance and examination-wise accounting, while the General Manager (HR) will be responsible for workforce management, HR reforms, employee engagement and institutional policy professionalisation.
Applications for the three positions have been invited within 15 days from the publication of the advertisement on the NTA website. The selection process will be based on qualifications, experience and leadership capabilities.
The reforms come in the wake of allegations that certain questions from NEET-UG 2026 were leaked and circulated among students.
Dharmendra Pradhan reviews Re-NEET preparations
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan chaired a high-level review meeting on Tuesday to assess preparations for the upcoming NEET (UG) re-examination.
During the meeting, Pradhan stressed the need for complete transparency and integrity in the conduct of the examination and directed officials to eliminate all shortcomings identified in the earlier process.
Pradhan directed officials to ensure proper facilities for students, including transportation, drinking water and other essential arrangements at examination centres.
The re-examination is scheduled to be held on June 21. Earlier, the Union Education Minister had announced that NEET-UG would shift to computer-based test (CBT) mode from next year as part of corrective measures.
NEET-UG 2026, conducted on May 3, was cancelled by the NTA on May 12 after allegations of a coordinated paper leak surfaced.
