NEW DELHI: Conducting the NEET-UG examination completely online, on the lines of the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and other competitive tests, is not possible under the present circumstances because of inadequate technical infrastructure and the sheer number of candidates, a senior official of the National Testing Agency (NTA) has said.
This year, 22.05 lakh candidates appeared for the examination out of the 22.79 lakh who had registered. “Over 22 lakh aspirants is an extremely large number. To conduct the examination online for all candidates successfully, it would take nearly 20 days continuously. It is not feasible to implement it this year,” the official said.
With lakhs of candidates in India and abroad appearing for the examination in the traditional pen-and-paper format, the same pattern has been followed in earlier years as well.
Several parents and teachers have strongly advocated shifting the entire examination process online following the alleged leak of questions in the NEET-UG 2026 examination that came to light earlier this week. A similar demand had also been raised after the question paper leak in May 2024.
Conducting the examination entirely online was among the key recommendations made by the seven-member committee headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, constituted to suggest measures for ensuring a foolproof examination process.
A senior official told this newspaper, “At present, the number of aspirants who can take the examination online at one time ranges between one lakh and 1.5 lakh. The existing system does not have the capacity to handle more than that.”
The official added that a complete shift to online mode could be considered from next year if substantial technological upgrades are implemented.
Meanwhile, NTA officials have been meeting over the past two days with the Ministry of Health, the National Medical Commission, and officials of the Education Ministry regarding the re-test and measures to ensure a foolproof examination process.