New Delhi, August 21, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has defended its answer key challenge mechanism, saying the system is designed to ensure fairness for all candidates and rejecting concerns that the process is “too expensive”.
In a post on X, the testing agency explained how the challenge mechanism works and said a valid objection raised by even one candidate can benefit every student who appeared for the examination.
Addressing concerns over the challenge fee, the NTA said the system is intended to benefit all candidates rather than only the person who raises an objection.
“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,” the agency said.
The NTA also clarified that the challenge fee is refunded when an objection is upheld. Candidates are generally required to pay Rs 200 for each question they challenge.
According to the agency, the fee is intended to discourage frivolous objections rather than generate revenue from genuine challenges.
The NTA urged candidates who identify what they believe is a genuine error in the provisional answer key to raise an objection through the prescribed process. It said an accepted challenge could result in a correction benefiting lakhs of candidates.
An NTA answer key challenge is an online mechanism through which candidates appearing for examinations such as JEE Main, NEET and UGC-NET can raise objections to questions or answers included in a provisional answer key.
The clarification comes amid continued scrutiny of the NTA over examination-related issues, including controversies surrounding the NEET-UG examination and reported concerns linked to UGC-NET.
The agency reiterated that the answer key challenge system provides candidates with an opportunity to flag errors while ensuring that any correction accepted by subject experts is applied uniformly to all candidates who took the examination.
FOLLOW NOW
