The ongoing tussle between the State government and the Council of Architecture (CoA), regarding the compulsory introduction of the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA), was further intensified by a letter from the Ministry of Human Resource and Development (MHRD) on July 9. The letter reassures the State government that theres no provision in the Architects Act, 1972 whereby CoA can make the aptitude test compulsory.

The matter relating to holding of NATA by CoA and making it compulsory for all architectural institutions has been examined in detail by the ministry in consultation with the ministry of law, states the letter.

The dispute started several months ago when the State government refused to accept NATA at government and government-aided colleges for admissions to Bachelor of Architecture (BArch), which was made mandatory by CoA from 2007 onwards.

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