The National Testing Agency (NTA) has been marred by controversies this year, including repeated cancellations of entrance examinations and allegations of paper leaks and irregularities. The matter has reached the Supreme Court, and now, the agency's working model has been questioned in the Rajya Sabha.
Rajya Sabha member Vivek K Tankha from the Indian National Congress (INC) questioned the Centre about NTA's revenue and expenditure. Dr. Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, revealed that NTA is self-supporting through examination fees, with an estimated fee income of Rs 1065.38 crore in 2023-24 and a total expenditure of Rs 1020.35 crore.
Since its inception, NTA has conducted over 240 examinations involving over 5.4 crore candidates. The agency's fee income has increased dramatically since the launch of CUET UG and PG exams in 2022, from Rs 490.35 crore in 2021-22 to Rs 873.20 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 1065.38 crore in 2023-24.
The data is shared by Dr Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State in the Ministry of Education in Rajya Sabha.
Dr. Majumdar also shared details about NTA's operational measures and staffing. The agency has implemented various security measures to ensure smooth and fair conduct of examinations. NTA has a total of 22 employees working on deputation, 39 contractual employees, and 132 outsourced staff/employees.
Among the employees working on deputation, 17.3% are women, and 13% are from Scheduled Castes. One employee has been absorbed in NTA from their parent department.
