Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], July 27 (ANI): 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 organisation. 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.

PM Modi said the task force would submit a report and stressed the need for a 'reliable' and 'transparent' examination system with greater use of technology.

In a video message on X, the Prime Minister said, 'The Government of India is continuously taking various measures for the future of students. Those who tampered with the students' future are languishing in jail. We have already established fast-track courts. We are also moving towards enacting new legislation in Parliament that incorporates stringent legal provisions. However, we must look to the future. Our examination system needs to be reliable and transparent, and it must make maximum use of technology.'

'Keeping all these factors in mind, we have decided to constitute a high-powered task force under the leadership of the world-renowned technology expert Nandan Nilekani. This task force will focus on examination reforms, and based on its report, steps will be taken to ensure the credibility of upcoming examinations at the earliest,' he added. (ANI)