CPI(M) Member of Parliament V Sivadasan has written to the Prime Minister seeking accountability over contradictory replies furnished by the Ministry of Education in Parliament regarding the expenditure of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

The NTA has emerged as one of the central issues in the ongoing student movement across the country. At a time when students are demanding transparency and accountability, it is deeply concerning that the Ministry of Education has furnished such contradictory replies in Parliament.

On July 22, 2026, in response to Parliamentary Questio n No. 369 raised by V Sivadasan, the Ministry provided expenditure figures for the National Testing Agency that materially contradict the figures furnished earlier in response to Parliamentary Question No. 991, answered on July 31, 2024, to Shri Vivek K Tankha on the same subject.

The discrepancies are substantial. For the financial year 2019-20, the earlier reply reported an expenditure of Rs 390. 01 crore, whereas the latest reply states Rs 440.2 crore, a difference of Rs 50.19 crore. For the financial year 2020-21, the earlier reply reported Rs 427.94 crore, whereas the latest reply states Rs 436.25 crore, a difference of Rs 8.31 crore. The government has also not been willing to provide data for the years 2024-25 and 2025-26.

V Sivadasan stated that these are not mere clerical errors but serious inconsistencies that strike at the core of parliamentary accountability. Parliament cannot function effectively when members are provided with inconsistent and unreliable information. The letter demands immediate scrutiny and corrective action, whether caused by negligence, incompetence or deliberate suppression of facts.

The letter called for an immediate and independent inquiry into the NTA’'s income and expenditure, and sought strict action against those responsible for the contradictory information placed before Parliament. He urged the Government to direct the Ministry of Education to verify the complete expenditure, disclose the missing financial data for 2024-25 and 2025-26 without delay, and put in place a robust mechanism to ensure that misleading or contradictory replies are never again furnished to Parliament.

At a time when students across the country are questioning the transparency and functioning of the National Testing Agency, the Government must provide a full explanation for these contradictions and ensure that the integrity of Parliament is upheld.