NTA says answer key challenge designed to be fair to all students, rejects 'expensive' charge

NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Thursday night remarked its 'answer key challenge' system is designed to be fair to all students and rejected worries regarding it being expensive.

Key points

• The Rs 200/question is refunded to the candidate whose challenge is upheld.
• The NTA has been under fire lately over problems ranging from NEET-UG paper leak to errors in the UGC-NET examinations.
• The NTA remarked fee is charged for challenging an answer to discourage frivolous challenges and it is refunded if the challenge turns out to be right.
• On the concern being raised that answer key challenges are 'too expensive': a quick clarification for candidates.
• If even a single candidate challenges a question, and the subject experts accept the challenge, the revised answer key applies to every candidate who wrote the exam.

Notably, an NTA answer key challenge is an online process where candidates who take an exam (like JEE Main, NEET, or UGC NET) can object to errors in the provisional answer key.

Meanwhile, the NTA has been under fire lately over problems ranging from NEET-UG paper leak to errors in the UGC-NET examinations.

"On the concern being raised that answer key challenges are 'too expensive': a quick clarification for candidates. The answer key challenge system is designed to be fair to every student, not just the one who challenges, " NTA remarked in a post on X.

One challenge, everyone benefits. If even a single candidate challenges a question, and the subject experts accept the challenge, the revised answer key applies to every candidate who wrote the exam.

Meanwhile, the NTA remarked fee is charged for challenging an answer to discourage frivolous challenges and it is refunded if the challenge turns out to be right.

"The Rs 200/question is refunded to the candidate whose challenge is upheld. The fee exists to discourage frivolous challenges, not to profit from genuine ones, " the agency remarked.

"So if you have identified a genuine error and raised it, if found correct will not only be refunded but one accurate challenge from any candidate can correct the record for lakhs of others, " it continued.

For now, NTA says answer key challenge designed to be fair to all students, remains the part of the story worth watching, and further updates are likely as more details are confirmed.