Sukhadeo Thorat, former UGC Chairman and an eminent economist and educationist, told The Quint that the centralisation of these entrance exams had led to the involvement of private players.
"I am not in favour of a centralised test either for UGC NET or medical and engineering entrance exams.
The NTA, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, has 10 members in his governing body.
JNU Professor Ayesha Kidwai, while questioning the motive behind the formation of NTA, said, "The NTA is not a teaching body.
The objective of setting up the NTA was to play with the autonomy of universities."
Sukhadeo Thorat, former UGC Chairman and an eminent economist and educationist, told The Quint that the centralisation of these entrance exams had led to the involvement of private players.
"I am not in favour of a centralised test either for UGC NET or medical and engineering entrance exams. Outsourcing (these responsibilities) to autonomous bodies and private parties is not a good idea. The stakes are really high. There is a greater chance of leakage or irregularities when the exam is centralised. And the impact of that leakage will be felt across the country...unlike a decentralised exam where even if any discrepancies take place, a re-exam can be conducted without wasting much time and resources. That is because the impact of such discrepancies will be localised," Thorat said.
The NTA, registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, has 10 members in his governing body. The legislation allows the registration of not-for-profit entities, generally involved in the benefit of society – education, health, and employment.
JNU Professor Ayesha Kidwai, while questioning the motive behind the formation of NTA, said, "The NTA is not a teaching body. It’s an autonomous agency under the Ministry (of Education). You look at how UPSC or CBSE work. They are not set up like this. They are Boards and Commissions within the government. The objective of setting up the NTA was to play with the autonomy of universities."
