The National Testing Agency (NTA) follows a multi-stage process to prepare examination papers, beginning with the creation of a large question bank and ending with the printing, packing and secure storage of multiple question-paper sets.
The entire process — from a question bank containing several times the required number of questions to separate moderation, vetting, translation, randomisation, printing and sealed storage — is designed to restrict access to the final paper until the examination. The question bank contains at least five times the number of questions actually required for an examination, according to the government’s affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on August 4. The entire question bank is translated into 12 Indian languages, rather than only the questions eventually selected for the examination.
Translators therefore receive a much larger pool of questions and cannot identify which ones will ultimately appear.
