New Delhi: Education Ministers next week are slated to deliberate on the feasibility of having a centralised testing body responsible for conducting JEE, AIEEE, NET, CAT, CMAT, GATE under it and providing candidates an opportunity to sit for a test more than once in a year.
The `national agency for testing` will deliver the national-level exams through a dedicated group of professionals, thereby sparing the teachers from the testing exercise. It will do research for preparing question papers, administer and conduct exams. Holding tests and assessment under the body is likely to become prerequisite for public and private sector engineering, medical and other colleges, universities and institutions for admission and recruitment if the proposal passes through.
While CBSE has prepared a model with objective, structure and functions for the body, government intends to start in a small way by conducting the UGC-NET exam as early as next year. The proposal would be deliberated at the Central Advisory Board of Education meet attended by state education ministers, academicians among others here on April 2.
HRD Minister MM Pallam Raju has, however, made it clear that joining the body would not be binding and only those who wish can join the body.
PTI