Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 27, 2026 : IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti, who has
been appointed to the high-powered task force for National Testing Agency (NTA)
examination reforms, shared his views on the committee’s approach for strengthening the
NTA.
Speaking to ANI over the phone, Kamakoti stated that the task force will focus on making
the NTA’s examination process more transparent, accountable, and technologically
secure.
“When I wrote the JEE exam in 1985, I wrote on paper and pen, where nearly 4,000
students appeared. Today, one and a half million people write it. We have changed it to
OMR and now it’s computer-based,” he said.
“My name has been announced among the multidisciplinary group of domain experts that
will help revamp NTA examination especially from a technology perspective and for
structural reforms in the system. The exam system is evolving… Technology intervention
is extremely important for conducting exams… The system should be transparent… If a
student secures 90 marks, then NTA must say how this was calculated. This is where
technology is needed. There should be a structure where everyone is accountable,” he
further said.
Kamakoti suggested that every individual in the exam hierarchy must be held
responsible.
“To conduct an exam, a big structure is needed. Who is doing which part is to be
reviewed. We call it structural organization. There should be a structure where everyone
is accountable so that the system is as foolproof as possible. That is what we will
recommend,” he said.
The Director stated that the task force would seek to create a methodology that
safeguards this “trust” through accountability.
“This world is running based on trust. In this high-powered task force constituted for the
NTA examination reforms committee, I was included as they trusted me; if I breach their
trust, then it’s gone. We will think about a methodology on how to make it trustworthy and
accountable,” he said.
This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced the constitution of
a high-powered task force on examination reforms under the leadership of technology
expert Nandan Nilekani.