India's high-stakes exam system faces a crisis of trust

In 2017, India introduced the National Testing Agency (NTA) to conduct fair, transparent and standardised examinations.

Set up under the federal education ministry, it was meant to make exams more efficient, consistent and trustworthy, after years of paper leaks, administrative errors and cheating allegations.

Over the next few years, the agency took charge of some of India's largest and most competitive tests, including medical and engineering entrance examinations, university admissions and eligibility tests for teaching and research.

But eight years later, the organisation created to restore trust in India's exams is facing a crisis of confidence of its own.

In June, more than two million students had to retake a crucial medical entrance examination after the paper was leaked. The fallout triggered weeks of youth-led protests which eventually led to the resignation of the federal education minister.

In response, the government appointed a high-level task force led by tech tycoon Nandan Nilekani to recommend reforms and restore confidence in the examination system.

For many Indians, however, the announcement prompted a sense of déjà vu.

A similar panel was established in 2024 after irregularities in another medical entrance examination sparked widespread unrest. That committee proposed more than 100 reforms, a little over half of which have reportedly been fully implemented.

The cycle has repeated: an exam goes wrong, students protest, a committee is appointed and reforms are proposed - only for another crisis to expose the same weaknesses.

Experts the BBC spoke to say the problems go beyond paper leaks - from NTA's accountability and capacity to exam centralisation, design and whether India's high-stakes testing system needs a rethink.

BJ Rao, who was part of the 2024 panel and is now head of SGT University near Delhi, says India should move more decisively towards computer-based examinations to minimise the chances of paper leaks, increase efficiency and reduce human involvement wherever possible.

"Digital connectivity has vastly improved across the country, what we need to do is put in resources and focus on upgrading infrastructure and move to computer-based exams," he told the BBC.

"We currently have ad hoc centres for conducting exams. We need to replace them with standardised state-controlled online centres."

But technology alone will not solve the problem, he says.

Rao points to the NTA's reliance on contract staff: just 24 of its 221 employees are permanent, with many from bureaucratic backgrounds, according to the government.

"When you have a large portion of people who work on a temporary basis then there is no sense of belonging, and that has an impact on the functions as well. You need people who are well-versed in academia and experienced in conducting such assessments to ensure better management and oversight," he explains.

Some experts argue that repeated crises have exposed flaws not only in how exams are conducted, but also in how they are designed.

Keshav Aggarwal, an educationist and president of Educators Federation, says the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) or NEET-UG - whose paper leak triggered this year's protests - could be restructured along the lines of the country's engineering entrance examination, which is computer-based and conducted in two stages.

Rather than relying on a single high-stakes test day, the exams could be held across multiple sessions with different sets of questions, he says.

"Different stages and days with varying sets of questions" would reduce the risks associated with any one examination and make the system more resilient to disruptions, Aggarwal explains.

Experts also question whether an annual exam can work when millions compete for limited university places.

India needs a system where students can take important entrance exams more than once a year, as is common in some western countries, said Yamini Aiyar, senior visiting fellow at Brown University.

"This would give students another chance if an exam is cancelled or they do not perform well, reducing the risk of losing an entire year," she says.

For millions of Indian students, the risk is real. Many spend years preparing and tens of thousands of rupees on private tuition. A leaked, cancelled or delayed exam can suddenly upend months or years of preparation.

Pari, 17, experienced that uncertainty first-hand. After taking NEET this year, she had to retake it after the original exam was cancelled following a paper leak.

"It was very frustrating. All our preparation had gone to waste, and we had to start all over again," she said.

The experience left her angry at repeated exam failures.

"The government can form as many panels as it likes. We need a system strong enough to prevent paper leaks from happening again."

Mansi Bansal, 23, has a similar story. She spent months preparing for UGC-NET, a qualification for entry-level college teaching jobs.

The exam was cancelled after a 2024 paper leak and again this year after the NTA cited errors in three subjects.

Bansal took the affected commerce paper and will retest on 9 September.

"I put my life on hold all these months, stopping going to the gym, hanging out with friends or even attending family gatherings," she said. "I had planned my entire year but now it has all gone into uncertainty. Can the government promise a leak won't happen again?"

Such experiences have fuelled calls from student activists and opposition politicians to scrap the NTA altogether.

Educationists argue that scrapping the agency would not solve the underlying problem.

The NTA needs deep structural reform to address recurring failures, but abolishing it is not the answer, said M Jagadesh Kumar, former chairman of India's universities regulator.

"A single national testing body offers common security standards, technology, candidate services and result procedures. Creating many new agencies could duplicate costs and produce uneven safeguards," he told PTI news agency.

Rao agrees.

"It is not a case of all bad news. The body has conducted several exams successfully, where we did not hear of any leaks," he said.

What is needed, he argues, is a statutory institution staffed by specialists with the academic, technical and operational expertise to run a secure examination system.

Yet for some experts, the debate ultimately goes beyond the NTA itself.

Aiyar says the bigger issue is not just stopping the next paper leak, but whether a highly centralised testing system can cope with the intense competition for limited educational opportunities.

The NTA may be able to make exams more secure, she says. "But it cannot, at least on its own, change a system in which millions of students compete for a limited number of seats and a single exam can shape their future."

Some experts say reform must go beyond the NTA itself: India needs an exam system less reliant on one-off, high-stakes tests, gives students multiple chances and can better withstand disruptions.

Rao remains optimistic that the task force led by Nilekani will help plug gaps in the existing system.

But for many students, another committee offers little reassurance unless it produces changes they can actually see.

"I am studying for my university entrance examination next year," said a 16-year-old Grade 12 student.

"In my head I am prepared that there might be a leak. But what can we do about it? I will prepare and hope for the best."