NEW DELHI: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday briefed the media regarding the upcoming NEET re-examination. During the briefing, he sent a stern message to those involved in examination malpractices, stating that the central government has “zero-tolerance” for the exam mafia. The Minister’s address followed a high-level meeting held at his residence late Thursday night, shortly after the National Testing Agency (NTA) finalized the schedule.
The Minister announced that the NEET-UG re-examination is officially scheduled for June 21, 2026. This decision was taken after the original examination, conducted on May 3 across the country, was compromised. The NTA had formally announced the cancellation of the May attempt this Tuesday, after internal reports confirmed that the sanctity of the test had been breached.
Explaining the sequence of events, Mr. Pradhan revealed that while the exam took place on May 3, the NTA received a specific complaint on May 7. The complaint alleged that a “guess paper” circulating prior to the test contained several questions that were identical to the ones in the original question sheets. The Higher Education Department launched an immediate inquiry and handed the matter over to government investigators.
The subsequent investigation uncovered a deep-rooted conspiracy where actual exam questions were leaked under the guise of guess papers. Mr. Pradhan emphasized that the cancellation was a necessary step to ensure that no honest student would suffer. He admitted that despite the government and the NTA taking all standard precautions, the leak occurred, necessitating a total restart of the process.
“We did not want any deserving student to be deprived of their rights due to the machinations of fraudulent candidates or the conspiracies of the education mafia,” the Minister told reporters. He noted that even though the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee were implemented “word for word” for the 2025 and 2026 cycles, the breach still took place.
In a major policy shift, the Minister announced that the NEET will no longer follow the pen-and-paper system. From next year onwards, the medical entrance exam will be a Computer Based Test (CBT). He pointed out that the current use of OMR sheets has become a major source of irregularities and that a digital transition is essential to maintain transparency.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has now been tasked with a full-scale probe into the leak. Mr. Pradhan promised that “no one will be spared” if found involved in the scam. He also acknowledged that the NTA is accountable for the current situation and mentioned that improvements are needed in how the agency outsources its operations to prevent future lapses.
