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NEW DELHI: Top officials from the educatin ministry and the National Testing Agency (NTA) will brief a Parliamentary panel this week on the lessons learnt from the NEET-UG re-examination and the reforms being undertaken to strengthen the country’s entrance examination system.Former Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan will also appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports to present the progress made in implementing reforms recommended for the NTA, reported news agency PTI citing sources.Radhakrishnan heads the high-powered steering committee constituted by the Centre to oversee the implementation of recommendations aimed at improving the functioning of the testing agency.The committee is scheduled to meet on July 1, during which NTA Director General Abhishek Singh will brief members on the outcome of the NEET-UG re-examination conducted on June 21 and the key takeaways from the exercise.Higher education secretary Vineet Joshi has also been asked to attend the meeting.The NEET-UG examination, originally held on May 3, was cancelled after allegations of a paper leak surfaced. The examination was conducted again on June 21, while the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) continues to investigate the alleged leak.Apart from reviewing the examination process, the panel will also deliberate on the growing role of artificial intelligence in education and measures needed to improve students’ employability in an AI-driven economy.Sources said several education experts, including former National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration (NIEPA) head Arun C Mehta and former IIT Guwahati director and ex-AICTE chairman T G Sitharam, have been invited to brief the committee on the subject.Officials from the Indian Institute of Science, the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and the Delhi School of Artificial Intelligence are also expected to share their recommendations.The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports is now chaired by Congress MP Mukul Wasnik, with this being its first meeting under his leadership. He succeeded Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who retired from the Rajya Sabha on June 21.The panel had earlier summoned senior officials from the ministries of higher education and health, along with representatives of the NTA and the National Medical Commission (NMC), over the NEET-UG paper leak controversy and issues related to the CBSE’s onscreen evaluation system.
