Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday announced that the National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the NEET-UG re-examination on June 21 and shift the medical entrance test to Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode from next year, following the latest paper-leak controversy.
Addressing a press conference, Pradhan assured students that the government would not allow irregularities to recur and said protecting students’ interests remained the Centre’s top priority.
“Our topmost priority is the future of the students, and the government is sensitive towards their hard work and efforts. We will not let malpractice happen this time. The government is with you. We had to make a difficult decision in the interest of the nation. We are very sad,” Pradhan said.
The minister admitted that questions had circulated under the guise of “guess papers”.
“Questions have gone out under the guise of guess papers,” Pradhan said.
Explaining the timeline leading to the cancellation of the examination, he said the verification process began on May 8 and continued for four days before the government decided to scrap the exam on May 12.
“The process began on the morning of May 8 and continued through May 8, 9, 10 and 11. When we got clarity and were confirmed that questions had gone out this time on the basis of the leaked paper, we made a decision on May 12 in the interest of the students. We did not want any deserving candidate to be deprived of their rights because of the conspiracy of education mafias,” he said.
Pradhan said the government had adopted a zero-tolerance approach towards examination irregularities and had implemented all recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee after controversies in the previous year.
“After the irregularities that surfaced last time, the Radhakrishnan Committee had been constituted, and we implemented its recommendations word for word for both 2025 and 2026. Despite that, this incident occurred. Hence, our first decision was to cancel the examination,” he said.
The minister said the government had handed over the case to the CBI and expressed confidence in the probe.
"CBI has rightly said. No one will be spared. Whether someone is within the NTA or outside it, no one will be spared," he said.
"CBT (computer-based test) mode of exam is comparatively better than OMR. It is a bit protected. Cybercrime has become a big world in itself. There are challenges, however, we will have to trust the system of our country," the minister said.
Defending the NTA, the minister said the agency remained accountable and capable of conducting large-scale examinations.
“NTA is fully accountable. The NTA is in the hands of an able person. It has been formed with the recommendation of the Supreme Court and conducts examination of nearly 1 crore students each year. We will ensure 0 errors in the NTA,” he said.
Pradhan also announced a series of measures for students appearing in the re-examination, including a refund of examination fees and waiver of charges for the upcoming test.
“We will return the fees of the students. Zero fees in the upcoming examination,” he said.
The minister further said NEET would transition to CBT mode from next year to strengthen transparency and prevent malpractice.
He added that candidates would be allowed to reselect their preferred examination cities.
“A large number of students appear for this examination every year. The NTA will issue a detailed public notice by this evening with complete information. Prima facie, the NTA has decided to give students one week to choose their preferred examination city again, because many candidates may have left the city where they appeared for the previous exam,” Pradhan said.
To ease examination-day procedures, the duration of the test will also be extended by 15 minutes.
“Keeping students' convenience and time constraints in mind, the NTA has decided to extend the examination duration by 15 minutes. The exam, which was scheduled from 2 pm to 5 pm, will now continue till 5:15 pm,” he said.
Pradhan added that the Centre would coordinate with state governments to minimise travel-related difficulties for students.
“The Government of India will speak to the states regarding transportation, and I will also personally speak with Chief Ministers so that students face minimal difficulties,” he said.
Admit cards for the re-examination will be issued by June 14, the minister added.
(With inputs from PTI)
