The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday told the Supreme Court that it is prepared to conduct the NEET-UG examination in computer-based test (CBT) mode from next year after consultations with the Centre.
The submission was made before a bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, which is hearing a batch of petitions related to the alleged NEET-UG paper leak that led to the cancellation of the May 3 examination this year.
In an affidavit filed before the apex court, the NTA said a high-level committee of experts (HLCE) had recommended transitioning NEET-UG to the CBT mode.
The agency said NEET-UG remained the only major examination conducted by the NTA in pen-and-paper mode, primarily due to the scheme followed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Medical Commission.
It said all other major NTA examinations are already conducted in CBT mode.
"The HLCE has specifically recommended transition of NEET (UG) from PPT to CBT mode, along with the introduction of multi-session and multi-stage testing," said the affidavit filed by Director (Legal), NTA.
"The transition will be implemented from the next examination cycle in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (the client ministry for NEET-UG) - thereby bringing all major NTA examinations onto the CBT platform," it said.
The affidavit was filed in pursuance of the May 25 order passed by the apex court, which is hearing pleas, including the one seeking a direction to replace or restructure the NTA with a robust and autonomous body to conduct the medical entrance examination.
In its affidavit, the NTA said it has acted in good faith, with due diligence and in accordance with law to safeguard the integrity of the national examination system and the interests of a very large majority of bona-fide aspirants whose effort and integrity is not in question, and will not be devalued.
It said in June 2024, the Ministry of Education had constituted a HLCE under the Chairmanship of Dr K Radhakrishnan, a former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, to make recommendations for the reform of the NTA.
The affidavit said the HLCE had submitted its comprehensive report to the Centre in October 2024 and the report contained 101 recommendations.
It said with a view to ensuring that the recommendations contained in the HLCE report were implemented in a structured, time-bound and accountable manner, the ministry constituted a high-powered steering committee (HPSC) in November 2024 under the chairmanship of Radhakrishnan.
The NTA also gave details about the functioning of the HPSC.
"It is respectfully submitted that, under the oversight of the HPSC, the answering respondent (NTA) has implemented, or is in the advanced stages of implementing, a substantial body of the recommendations contained in the HLCE report," the affidavit said.
It said standard operating procedures for question-paper setting and vetting have been institutionalised.
It said the NEET (UG) 2026 examination was conducted on May 3 at 5,432 centres and over 22.05 lakh candidates appeared in the test.
"The re-examination scheduled on June 21, 2026 will be conducted under a further strengthened SOP framework, with multi-layer authentication, surveillance and inter-agency coordination, in line with the directions and oversight of the HPSC," the affidavit said.
It said the cancellation of the May 3 examination and reference of matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation "are themselves illustrative of the seriousness with which the answering respondent and the Government of India view examination integrity".
It said the decision was taken in the interest of students and in recognition of the trust on which the national examination system rests.
"All necessary cooperation is being extended by the answering respondent to CBI in the ongoing investigation," the NTA said.
Giving details of the way forward, the NTA said randomisation and the rotation policy are being further institutionalised for the engagement of paper setters, moderators, vetters, translators, proof readers, etc for high-stakes and sensitive examinations.
"Further, AI-based tools shall be used for at least 85 per cent of the translation work in order to minimise human intervention and reduce the time involved in the process and consequently lower the probability of any security compromise," it said.
(With inputs from PTI)
