A day after the National Testing Agency (NTA) announced to reconduct the UGC-NET exams for English, sociology, and commerce owing to errors in the question papers, the testing agency removed more than 50 of its staff members.In a meeting with the Secretary, Department of Higher Education, Director General of NTA, on Monday, Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi directed that the testing agency should conduct a thorough audit of all exam processes and submit a report on corrective action taken in a month.The minister was apprised that the testing agency has advertised for 10 new professional leadership positions, including chief technology officer, chief finance officer, chief information security officer, general manager, test security, R&D, and psychometrics.“Domain specialists are being roped in from the private sector for cybersecurity, psychometrics, question-paper design, and other specialized areas,” an official said.Joshi directed that strict compliance be ensured of the established exam protocols. He also directed the NTA that a complete overhaul of confidential operations (CONOPS), secluded rooms, air-gapped systems, and device-deposit protocols be implemented on a war footing.The NTA conducted the UGC-NET from June 22 to 30 across 87 subjects. Candidates claimed that the sociology paper had several spelling, grammar, and translation mistakes, including the names of renowned sociologists being misspelt as “Putzer” instead of “Ritzer” and “Nusbaut” instead of “Nussbaum.”The UGC-NET English and commerce papers will be held on September 9, while the exam for sociology will be conducted on September 10.