With reference to the constitutional and policy framework governing education assessment in India, consider the following statements: 1. Article 21A was inserted into the Constitution by the 86th Amendment Act, 2002. 2. The National Testing Agency conducts India's major centralised entrance examinations, including JEE and NEET. 3. The National Education Policy, 2020 recommends rote-based, single-shot testing over holistic, multi-dimensional assessment. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Polity · 2 Aug 2026

Article 21A

With reference to the constitutional and policy framework governing education assessment in India, consider the following statements:

Article 21A was inserted into the Constitution by the 86th Amendment Act,
2. The National Testing Agency conducts India's major centralised entrance examinations, including JEE and NEET.
The National Education Policy, 2020 recommends rote-based, single-shot testing over holistic, multi-dimensional assessment.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A1 only

B1 and 2 only

C2 and 3 only

D1, 2 and 3

Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 2 Aug 2026

About this question

Why in news

A widely discussed essay following youth protests over examination integrity argued for replacing India's centralised, single-shot testing model with decentralised, multi-dimensional institutional assessments.

Why for UPSC

UPSC frequently tests whether aspirants can correctly state the direction of a policy recommendation (holistic vs rote-based) rather than simply recognising the policy's name, a distinction this essay's argument directly hinges on.

Prelims summary

Article 21A (86th Amendment, 2002) guarantees the Right to Education, while NEP 2020 recommends holistic, multi-dimensional assessment over the rote-based, single-shot model currently used by the NTA for exams like JEE and NEET.

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