Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday announced that a high-powered task force will be set up under the leadership of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani as the next step towards examination reforms. The formation of the task force comes in view of massive students’ protests in Delhi and other cities against alleged paper leaks.
The announcement comes a day before the Union government will move a bill in Parliament to implement harsher punishment and heavier penalties for those convicted of paper leaks. In addition to this, the formation of the force comes just a day after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned from his post as Union Education Minister.
Members Of The High-Powered Task Force
According to government sources, the committee will comprise a multidisciplinary group of domain experts to help revamp the NTA examination, especially from a technology perspective, and to support structural reforms in the system. The members of the Task Force will be:
- Technology Expert Nandan Nilekani
- Former ISRO Chairman S Somnath
- Former IB Director Tapan Deka
- IIT Chennai Director V Kamakoti
- Former Education Secretary Anita Karwal
- Logistics Expert Amrit Lal Meena
High-Powered Committee
The panel is formed to submit recommendations for immediate steps to secure upcoming tests. The panel will overhaul India’s national examination and testing systems to make them secure.
In a video message on Sunday, Prime Minister Modi said that while the announcement of setting up fast-track courts to try cases of irregularities in examinations has been made, the government is preparing to move a bill, the task force is being set up with an eye on the future and overall examination reforms.
Dharmendra Pradhan Resigns, Prahlad Joshi Comes In
Dharmendra Pradhan resigned on Saturday as the Union Education Minister following weeks of protests led by CJP. Hours after the resignation announcement, Union consumer affairs minister Pralhad Joshi was given additional charge of the Education Ministry.
On Sunday, Joshi took additional charge of the education ministry at Kartavya Bhavan. He chaired a meeting in which he reviewed the implementation of various schemes and initiatives of the Department of School Education and the Department of Higher Education.