JEE Main 2027: NTA Plans to Deploy Retired Army Personnel as Exam Observers After Paper Leak Concerns

The National Testing Agency (NTA) is planning to strengthen exam security by deploying independent observers, including retired armed forces and paramilitary personnel, at JEE Mains and other NTA exam centres. Read more below.

JEE Main 2027: NTA Plans to Deploy Retired Army Personnel as Exam Observers

The move comes amid growing concerns over examination security following the NEET UG paper leak controversy and allegations of irregularities in national-level examinations. As part of a broader overhaul of its examination system, NTA is creating a permanent, pre-verified pool of independent observers who can be deployed across examination centres in India and abroad.

NTA has invited applications from eligible serving and retired government officials, academics, teachers and retired personnel of the Indian Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) for empanelment as observers.

JEE Main 2027 And Other Exams Covered Under New Observer System

JEE Main is among the national-level examinations conducted by NTA that will come under this proposed observer arrangement. Other examinations include NEET UG, UGC NET, CSIR NET and CUET.

NTA has already received 6,70,182 registrations for JEE Mains 2027 as of November 12, and this number is expected to rise to around 13.5 lakh, based on previous year numbers. The last date to apply for JEE Mains 2027 session 1 is January 22 without late fee.

LIVE Now: JEE Main 2027 Registration

According to NTA's Expression of Interest (EoI), an independent observer will be deployed at every examination centre on the day of the examination. The primary responsibility will be to monitor the fairness, security and smooth conduct of examinations and report directly to NTA.

Retired Defence Personnel Among Eligible Applicants

NTA has invited applications under three categories:

• Retired Central and State Government officers.
• Retired Indian Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces personnel.
• Serving and retired teachers and professors from government institutions.

Retired armed forces and CAPF personnel must have held the rank of Subedar Major or equivalent and above. Applicants in this category must not be older than 65 years as of the last date of application.

The application process for observer empanelment started on November 7, 2026, and will remain open until December 6, 2026. Eligible applicants can apply through the official NTA Observer Management Portal.

What Will NTA Observers Do at JEE Main Centres?

The observers will monitor several aspects of examination-day arrangements. Their responsibilities will include checking candidate identity verification, frisking procedures, seating arrangements and examination material distribution.

They will also monitor CCTV surveillance, webcasting facilities and backup electricity arrangements at examination centres. Any security lapse, irregularity or malpractice detected during the examination must be reported directly to NTA.

The proposed system aims to create a distributed pool of verified observers, reduce last-minute deployment problems and ensure better monitoring across the NTA examination calendar.