Trust is biggest challenge in tackling exam leaks: IIT-M Director
IIT Madras Director V. Kamakoti says “trust” and stage-wise accountability are the biggest challenge in strengthening the National Testing Agency after the NEET-UG paper leak controversy.

- NTA conducts entrance tests for admission in higher education.
- An exam leak threatens fairness and equal opportunity, not just paper security.
- Question generation, logistics, and exam-centre administration form a chain that needs accountability.
- Human review is needed when AI supports translation for multi-language question papers.
What happened: IIT Madras Director links NTA revamp to “trust”
V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras and one of six domain experts on a high-level panel tasked with revamping the National Testing Agency (NTA) after the NEET-UG paper leak controversy, said the biggest challenge in tackling exam leaks is “trust.” Kamakoti argued that trusted teachers should set questions and should remain quiet (remain independent from leak channels) to reduce leak risks.
Kamakoti also argued that accountability must cover every stage in the exam hierarchy through clear organisational structures. He specifically included both question-related work (question generation) and execution work (exam-centre administration). He noted that a subsequent NEET examination occurred without issues, while still stressing that trust remains crucial at large scale.
UPSC can frame this as exam-governance reform: integrity depends on credible human roles, clear responsibility chains across multiple stages, and verification safeguards even when AI supports language-related tasks.
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