- NTA operates with only 24 permanent employees currently.
- 15 permanent positions remain vacant against sanctioned strength.
- Agency heavily relies on 197 contractual and outsourced staff.
NTA Staff Shortage: As shared by the Centre in the Rajya Sabha, shockingly, the National Testing Agency has only 24 permanent employees. NTA, which is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Education, is responsible for conducting prestigious competitive examinations like JEE and NEET. Facing an acute shortage of employees, the agency is only running on a mere number of permanent employees, despite accepting over 66 million registrations since 2018.
Against a sanctioned strength of 39 permanent posts, only 24 permanent employees have been posted, leaving 15 positions vacant. The data was shared by the Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar, in the Rajya Sabha, detailing the employee structure and expenditure. This has raised several questions on the functioning and accountability of the NTA.
Only 24 Permanent Employees In NTA
As per the data shared in the Lok Sabha, the NTA has only 24 permanent employees working right now, while 197 employees have been appointed through contract or outsourcing. Against the 39 vacancies, only 24 posts have been filled by permanent employees. These include posts of Director General, 2 posts of Joint Secretary, 8 posts of Director, 6 posts of Joint Director and Research Scientist. Apart from this, the agency has 3 posts of Deputy Director, 2 posts of Assistant Director and 2 posts of Senior Superintendent.
73 Contractual And 124 Outsourcing Employees In NTA
In the Rajya Sabha, the minister said that NTA is currently emphasizing contractual and outsourced employees rather than hiring permanent employees. The data reiterated that a total of 73 contractual personnel and 124 outsourced staff are supporting the agency’s workload.
The contractual workforce includes:
1. One General Manager (Communication)
2. One Senior Advisor
3. Three Advisors
4. Five Senior Consultants
5. 44 Consultants
6. One Senior Software Developer
7. One Office Assistant
8. 17 Young Professionals.
Contrarily, the outsourced employees work as data analysts, consultants, junior consultants, legal associates, and housekeeping staff, among others.
NTA Conducted 12 Major Exams In 2026 Till Now
As per the data shared, the country’s largest examination agency has conducted over 270 competitive examinations across several courses since its inception in 2018. The total registrations so far are approximately 6.6 crore.
In 2026, NTA has received over 65 lakh candidate registrations for more than 12 examinations so far. With the NEET examination being cancelled and reconducted on June 21 for over 22 lakh candidates, the agency has since been under question. Re-NEET results were declared on July 16, 2026.