India TV Fact Check: The National Testing Agency (NTA) is facing controversies over alleged irregularities in the NEET undergraduate medical entrance exam and the cancellation of UGC-NET. In response to demands from students and parents for the agency's abolition, the Centre replaced NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh with Pradeep Singh Kharola. Amid these issues, a social media post claimed that the NTA is a private body and not subject to the Right to Information (RTI) Act. However, our fact-check revealed this claim to be misleading.
What was the claim?
Senior journalist Pankaj Pachauri shared the certificate of incorporation of NTA under the Society Registration Act on X and said, "Shocking to know that the NTA is a private society deciding the future of the students to publicly funded government institutions.
Not under RTI = no info.
No public oversight = no accountability.
Thats why the govt and the ministry can wash their hands off the scam."
What did we find in our investigation?
By visiting the NTA website, we found the certificate of incorporation under the Registration and MOA tab. This certificate is the basis of the claim circulating on social media. The certificate states that the organization was incorporated on May 15, 2018, under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
To clarify, the NTA is an independent autonomous body created with the Cabinet's approval and received a one-time grant of Rs 25 crore. The agency is administered by its general body, and its chairman is appointed by the Government of India. The Center can also issue policy instructions to the NTA, which it is obliged to follow.
It is worth noting that autonomous bodies can be either statutory (created by an Act of Parliament) or non-statutory. The former are governed by the provisions of the Act under which they were created, while the latter are governed by the Act under which they were incorporated, such as the Society Registration Act and the Trust Registration Act. However, in both cases, the government retains control.
Can RTI be sought from NTA?
To fall under the ambit of the Right to Information (RTI) Act, organizations and bodies must meet certain criteria. According to the Act, this includes bodies constituted by government approvals or notifications and substantially financed by the government. It is important to note that the NTA (National Testing Agency) meets these criteria, making it a public authority accountable under the RTI Act.
While questions have been raised about the transparency and accountability of these autonomous bodies as opposed to statutory autonomous bodies, the RTI portal has listed the NTA as one of the many public authorities required to provide information under the Act.
For your information, citizens have sought answers from the NTA under the RTI Act, and the agency has responded. The last available report on the number of RTI questions processed by the NTA for the year 2022-2023 can be seen here.
What was the conclusion?
India TV Fact Check found that the NTA is an autonomous body under the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education, Government of India, and it falls under the ambit of the RTI Act. This has been confirmed by the PIB as well. Thus, the viral post on social media claiming otherwise is misleading.
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