The Left parties on Monday (August 17, 2026) renewed their demand for scrapping the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, after the NTA announced a retest for three papers of the UGC-NET June 2026 examination following complaints of errors in the question papers.
In a statement, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau said that the errors in the English, Commerce and Sociology papers highlighted the “entrenched rot” in the education system and exposed the NTA’s “abject incompetence” in conducting examinations.
CPI General Secretary D. “If our education is in crisis, how can the government talk of Viksit Bharat? Such an imagination cannot coexist in a country where the young have a bleak future ahead,” Mr. “Removal of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan does not suffice. We need a comprehensive overhaul. He directed a complete overhaul of the confidential operations architecture. The revamp includes setting up of secluded rooms, air-gapped systems, and device-deposit protocols for persons handling confidential information on setting of question papers.
He also argued that education should be handled by State Governments and reiterated the recommendation of the Kothari Commission that public expenditure on education should be raised to 6% of GDP. Earlier reporting noted: Education Minister Pralhad Joshi tells NTA to audit examination processes, submit corrective action report A day after the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced re-conduct of the UGC-NET papers for Sociology, Commerce, and English, Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday (August 17, 2026) held a meeting with NTA officials in which he was apprised about steps taken to reform the education system.
“The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) reiterates its demand to scrap both the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the NEP 2020 – the root cause of the decay in the education system,” the party said. Raja said the latest controversy underscored the crisis facing the education sector. He alleged that the NEP promoted “centralisation, commercialisation and communalisation” of education and had encouraged the growth of a “coaching mafia”. Raja said. CPI (ML) Liberation General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya said the incident reinforced students’ demands for substantive changes in the education system. The Government should consider scrapping NTA, which has failed to deliver its duties,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: The Minister told NTA to conduct a thorough audit of all examination processes and submit a report on corrective action taken. Earlier reporting noted: The Minister told NTA officials that strict compliance of established examination protocols must be ensured.
