Kashmir Impulse Desk

New Delhi, May 15 

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said the NEET-UG re-examination will be held on June 21 and announced that the medical entrance test will shift to a computer-based format from next year as part of reforms following allegations of irregularities.

Addressing a news conference, Pradhan said the government would maintain “zero tolerance” towards malpractice and asserted that protecting students’ interests remained its top priority.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), conducted on May 3, was cancelled after allegations of irregularities and question paper leaks surfaced.

Pradhan said candidates appearing for the re-test would be allowed to choose their preferred examination cities again and would receive admit cards by June 14.

He said the duration of the examination had also been extended by 15 minutes, with the test now scheduled from 2 pm to 5:15 pm instead of 5 pm.

“The Government of India will coordinate with state governments regarding transport arrangements for students,” he said, adding that weather-related contingency measures were also being considered for the June 21 examination.

“Our priority is the future of students. The government stands with you. We will not allow malpractice to happen this time,” Pradhan said.

He said the government had cancelled the earlier examination after preliminary inquiries confirmed that questions circulated as “guess papers” had matched parts of the actual test.

“The examination was conducted on May 3. By May 7, objections were received through the NTA grievance redressal system stating that certain questions appearing in alleged ‘guess papers’ had also appeared in this year’s question set,” he said.

Pradhan said discussions were immediately held involving the National Testing Agency and the Higher Education Department, following which the matter was handed over to central agencies for further investigation.

“Within three to four days, when we became certain that questions had indeed been leaked under the guise of guess papers, we took the decision on May 12 to cancel the examination in the interest of students,” he said.

The minister said the case had been handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation and warned that strict action would be taken against those involved.

“No one will be spared, whether someone is within the NTA or outside it,” he said.

Pradhan said the government had implemented recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee after earlier irregularities surfaced, but added that the latest incident necessitated stronger reforms.

He said shifting NEET-UG to a computer-based test format from next year would improve security and reduce vulnerabilities associated with the existing OMR-based system.

“CBT mode of examination is comparatively better than OMR. It is more protected,” he said, while acknowledging challenges posed by cybercrime.

The minister’s remarks came after a high-level review meeting held late on Thursday at his residence to assess preparations for conducting the examination afresh.