The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that the Nandan Nilekani-led high-powered panel set up to recommend structural reforms in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) has held extensive consultations and is likely to submit its first interim report by the end of September.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe that all suggestions had been placed before the panel, which had also consulted members of an earlier committee headed by former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan.
The bench directed the joint secretary of the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), who is assisting the Nilekani panel, to file an affidavit detailing the steps taken so far.
The court said institutionalising the NEET process was the key issue. “You must know that permanency of the entire system is key. There should be a permanent setup, permanent staff, permanent verticals. Very less deputation should be there. Only then a permanent structure will come up,” the bench told Mehta.
Justice Narasimha also said he and Justice Aradhe would like to visit the newly upgraded facility of the National Testing Agency (NTA) to examine its systems.
Mehta said the Education Department had created a new, upgraded system. “Permanency of the structure has been ensured. However, human resources are partially ensured at the moment,” he said.
On August 19, the Supreme Court, noting the need to institutionalise reforms in the NTA, had directed the Centre to inform it about the steps taken to implement the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan panel and the Nilekani committee.
The court was hearing a batch of petitions, including one filed by advocate Tanvi Dubey on behalf of the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA).
(With inputs from PTI)