PARLIAMENTARY PANEL TARGETS INDIA’S COACHING-DRIVEN EXAM CULTURE, SEEKS SYLLABUS-BASED TESTS AND NATIONWIDE BLACKLIST FOR TAINTED VENDORS
October 12, 2026
A parliamentary standing committee on education has proposed a major overhaul of India’s competitive examination system, recommending that question papers for NEET-UG, JEE (Main) and the Common University Entrance Test (CUET) prioritise conceptual understanding and the official school curriculum over shortcuts and question-pattern techniques commonly taught by private coaching centres.
The 31-member committee, chaired by Congress Rajya Sabha member Mukul Wasnik, raised concerns about the rapid expansion of the coaching industry around examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). In its report, titled Reforms and Strengthening of National Testing Agency (NTA), the panel argued that the existing examination system had encouraged coaching institutions to develop a parallel curriculum designed primarily to maximise examination scores rather than promote genuine learning.
According to the committee, entrance examinations frequently reward familiarity with recurring question patterns, rapid recall and intensive practice of previous years’ papers. When success depends heavily on these techniques, students who can afford expensive coaching gain an advantage over those from economically weaker backgrounds who cannot access similar preparation facilities. The panel warned that this dependence on commercial coaching deepens socioeconomic inequality and undermines the principle of equal opportunity in education.
The committee has urged the Union Education Ministry to establish specific, measurable standards ensuring that NEET-UG, JEE (Main) and CUET assess conceptual understanding based on the prescribed school curriculum, including the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) syllabus. The proposed approach seeks to make school education the foundation of competitive examination preparation instead of allowing coaching-specific methods to become an unofficial prerequisite for success.
Alongside examination reform, the panel has called for a regulatory framework governing private coaching institutions. It recommended greater transparency in fees, appropriate safety standards within coaching centres and measures to protect students’ mental health. The proposals reflect concerns about the pressures associated with highly competitive examinations and the financial burden imposed on families seeking additional preparation for their children.
The report also identified a separate weakness in the procurement and administration of national examinations. According to the committee, companies blacklisted by certain states have continued to receive contracts for question-paper setting, logistics and examination administration from other agencies because India lacks a centralised registry recording such disqualifications.
To address this gap, the panel recommended that the NTA establish and maintain a National Registry of Blacklisted Examination Vendors. The proposed database would record the names of disqualified companies, their associated individuals, the nature of the disqualification and the authority responsible for imposing it. Such a registry would help examination agencies identify vendors with a history of disqualification and strengthen scrutiny before awarding contracts.
The recommendations place the examination system’s structure, the influence of commercial coaching and the integrity of service providers under renewed scrutiny. Rather than relying exclusively on security measures and administrative controls, the committee’s proposals seek to address the incentives that shape preparation, question-paper design and the conduct of competitive examinations.
The suggestions remain recommendations of the parliamentary panel, rather than reforms already implemented by the government. Their adoption could reshape the relationship between school education, private coaching and national entrance examinations, with the stated objective of making assessment more academically meaningful, transparent and equitable for students across different economic backgrounds.
