Archive · 12 Aug 2026
AISA chief Neha Bora calls for scrapping NTA, NEP rollback
There is a student group in India called AISA.
Its leader, Neha Bora, held a meeting for reporters in Kolkata.
She said big exams for jobs and colleges should not be run by one single organisation called the NTA.
She wants the NTA to be closed down and a new education plan called NEP 2020 to be cancelled.
Students in Jharkhand and West Bengal have been protesting because they believe some exams were not fair.
Bora said all these protests come from the same problem: exams are run in a way that is unfair to many students.
She also said that giving out bigger punishments will not fix the exam system.
Another speaker criticised the Bengal government and said leaders should keep their promises about jobs.
AISA is visiting many cities in India to talk to students as part of its 'Gen-Z Rising' tour.
AISA national president Neha Bora called for scrapping the National Testing Agency (NTA) and rolling back NEP 2020 at a Kolkata press conference as part of the 'Gen-Z Rising' tour.
Bora linked student protests in Delhi, Jharkhand and West Bengal as manifestations of a common problem: the centralisation of public examinations.
The Jharkhand agitation over alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC examinations has intensified, with protesters demanding accountability and a probe into the exam process.
Bora criticised the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, saying stricter penalties are like 'trying to cure a heart attack with a band-aid.'
Ranojay Sengupta of the Revolutionary Youth Association criticised the Bengal government over the recruitment controversy and questioned employment promises made by the BJP government.
- Who
- Neha Bora, national president of the All India Students' Association (AISA), with Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA) state secretary Ranojay Sengupta
- What
- A press conference demanding the scrapping of the National Testing Agency (NTA), rollback of NEP 2020, and a wider national movement against centralised examinations
- When
- Tuesday, during AISA's 'Gen-Z Rising' nationwide tour launched earlier this month
- Where
- Kolkata Press Club, Kolkata
- Why
- To link student protests in Delhi, Jharkhand and West Bengal over exam irregularities and demand greater political accountability
Protesters and AISA
Centre and the exam system
Penalties vs structural reform
Protesters and AISA
AISA argues higher punishments are like 'trying to cure a heart attack with a band-aid' — penalties cannot fix problems created by centralised exams; the NTA should be scrapped and NEP 2020 rolled back.
Centre and the exam system
The Centre's Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026 proposes increased penalties for exam-related offences and time-bound investigation and trial mechanisms.
Centralised vs decentralised examinations
Protesters and AISA
Bora says one institution deciding the future of crores of aspirants disadvantages students dependent on public education; AISA supports decentralised, state-level exams, citing Tamil Nadu's opposition to the centralised NEET model, and opposes outsourcing exam functions to private agencies.
Centre and the exam system
The status quo keeps a single national agency (the NTA) managing examinations, a system consolidated through policies such as NEP 2020 that AISA says must be challenged collectively.
- Organisation
- All India Students' Association (AISA)
- Key speaker
- Neha Bora, AISA national president
- Event
- Press conference during AISA's 'Gen-Z Rising' tour
- Location
- Kolkata Press Club, Kolkata
- Key demands
- Scrap the National Testing Agency (NTA) and roll back NEP 2020
- Protest focus
- Alleged irregularities in JPSC and JSSC exams (Jharkhand); SCC-related movement (West Bengal); NEET paper leak (Delhi)
- Opposed bill
- Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026
- Second speaker
- Ranojay Sengupta, state secretary, Revolutionary Youth Association (RYA)