CHENNAI: The number of candidates from Tamil Nadu who cleared the NEET-UG exam dropped by nearly 15,000 this year, according to data released by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on Thursday night. Only 61,306 students passed the exam in 2026, compared to 76,181 in 2025.
The drop was mainly due to low turnout for the re-examination. While over 95% of the 1,42,494 registered candidates took the original May 3 test, only 1,08,601 candidates showed up for the re-test. This caused the attendance rate to drop to 76.2%.
The May 3 examination was cancelled following allegations of a question paper leak, leading to the nationwide re-test on June 21.
12 from TN secure 690 marks & above
While registrations in Tamil Nadu this year increased marginally by 2,336, from 1,40,158 last year, the number of candidates who took the test fell by more than 27,000 and the number of qualified candidates dropped by nearly 15,000.
Among the southern states, Kerala recorded the sharpest decline. The number of candidates who appeared fell by more than 30%, while qualifiers dropped from 73,328 to 51,782. Karnataka also recorded a 17.4% decline in attendance and a 21.2% fall in the number of qualified candidates. In contrast, Rajasthan reported an increase in both attendance and qualifiers, while Uttar Pradesh’s numbers remained largely stable.
Tamil Nadu’s share of toppers also showed a slight dip. In the revised NEET-UG 2025 results, TN had an AIR 1 holder (Rajaneesh P) and 10 candidates in the national top 100. This year, the state’s highest rank was AIR 12, while nine candidates featured in the top 100. Venkatapathi Velayutham VA emerged as the state topper with AIR 12, and the only candidate from the state among the 17 candidates from across the country who scored 705 marks and above. Overall, 12 candidates from Tamil Nadu featured among the 138 candidates across the country who secured 690 marks and above.