The National Testing Service (NTS) introduced in the budget 2017 will be organizing most of the entrance exams that are currently conducted by the CBSE.
It is estimated that NTS will be functional from 2018 and the first exam conducted by it will be the National Entrance Examination for Technical Institution (NEETI) in January 2018. NEETI is yet to receive the approval of the Cabinet as the single engineering entrance exam.
According to sources, major entrance exams and professional tests conducted by CBSE will now be conducted and regulated by the NTS. This will make NTS the largest exam regulating body in India.
Presently, CBSE conducts various entrance exams apart from the school-based class 10 and 12 Board exams. More than 27 lakh students appear for class 10 and 12 board exams, whereas, close to 40 lakh aspirants appear for entrance exams to take admission in colleges across India.
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Following are the exams conducted by CBSE apart from board exams:
Name of the Exam | Window |
---|---|
Joint Engineering Entrance (JEE) | Once a year |
National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET) | Once a year |
UGC's National Eligibility Test (NET) | Twice a year |
Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) | Twice a year |
Entrance Test for Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas | Once a year |
The aim of NTS is to reduce the burden of CBSE so that the board can focus on key areas, i.e., school education, it’s curriculum and standards. It will also enable the IITs to reduce their burden of conducting exams as NEETI will be organised by NTS. However, the question paper will be set by either of the old IITs.
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Funds worth Rs. 50 crore have been reserved for setting up the infrastructure of NTS. CBSE will be the resource centre for NTS and will help in its making. The agency will also involve people who are familiar with the process of conducting various examinations and have worked with CBSE.