Two years ago, the Government of India had accepted the recommendations of the K Radhakrishnan committee. However, of the 101 recommendations made by the Committee, only 57(56.4%) have been fully implemented, and another 10 (9.9%) have been partially implemented.
The several recommendations made by the K Radhakrishnan committee following the NEET UG 2024 controversy were aimed at overhauling the National Testing Agency (NTA). Of the 101 recommendations, 27 are still pending.
List of recommendations not implemented
i. Among the major recommendations still pending are the is the proposed DIGI-EXAM identity verification system envisioned on the lines of the Digi Yatra model to enable seamless and secure candidate authentication across examination centres.
ii. The other recommendation was hybrid and computer-assisted secure transmission of question papers to minimise the risk of paper leaks.
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iii. The Committee has recommended the deployment of mobile testing centres to improve access for candidates in remote and underserved regions.
iv. Technology-driven reforms have also not been introduced, which include adaptive testing, where the difficulty level of questions changes according to a candidate’s responses, and international collaborations with global testing agencies to adopt best practices in examination design, security and assessment.
v. The panel also recommended an oversight mechanism for coaching centres to address concerns about reducing psychological pressure on students preparing for high-stakes entrance examinations. This recommendation also remains pending.
vi. Another important reform by the Committee was that the NTA should primarily conduct entrance examinations and should refrain from conducting recruitment tests. The recommendation was intended to allow the agency to focus on strengthening its core examination functions.
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However, documents show that despite an announcement in late 2024 that the NTA would stop conducting recruitment examinations, it has continued to handle recruitment tests for various courts and government agencies.
The K Radhakrishnan committee, constituted in June 2024, consisted of a 7-member team. The Committee, after allegations of irregularities in NEET-UG, had divided its recommendations into 60 short-term measures and 41 long-term structural reforms.
NEET UG row: 27 of 101 Radhakrishan panel suggestions unimplemented so far
According to HT’s analysis, the implementation was stronger in the first phase. As per the analysis, of the 60 Phase-I recommendations, 46 were implemented, 3 partially implemented, 2 under implementation, 3 announced for rollout, and 6 pending. Prominent among them was the rationalisation of CUET subjects, reducing them from 63 to 37, effective from the 2025 edition onwards. However, the implementation of the long-term reforms has lagged.
