After NEET UG paper leak, Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announces computer-based exam from next year
Dharmendra Pradhan (PTI file photo)
New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Friday that NEET UG exams will be computer-based from next year, while clarifying on alleged irregularities in the exam, saying the government has “zero tolerance towards malpractices.“His announcement came days after the huge uproar following the NEET UG 2026 exam paper leak.Dharmendra Pradhan said, “The root cause of this was OMR and hence, from next year the exam will be conducted in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode.”Pradhan said National Testing Agency A complaint was received soon after the exam and an investigation was immediately initiated.He said, “The new dates for re-examination have been announced as June 21… The exam was held on May 3 and on May 7, NTA received a complaint that the guess paper contained some questions which were present in the question paper this time. The Higher Education Department immediately initiated an investigation and handed it over to the government agency… They contacted the state agencies and by May 12, we had confirmation that, under the guise of a guess paper, the actual exam questions had indeed been leaked…”Explaining the logic behind the decision, he said, “We did not want any deserving student to be deprived of his or her rights due to conspiracies by fake candidates or conspiracies of the education mafia… This decision has given rise to two different opinions across the country – especially within the student community. We accept and respect both these viewpoints. We consider it our responsibility to find a solution to this situation.”..”Pradhan said, “We have zero tolerance towards malpractices and this is a long battle against the exam mafia… Various social media handles are trying to spread misinformation, the system is being challenged and in view of this, the investigation has been handed over to the CBI, which has initiated immediate action. It will go to the depth of the violations…”
Should the government take strict action against exam irregularities?
He said, “We will not allow any malpractice this time… We are very sad and concerned about all the candidates, but in the national interest we had to take this difficult decision…”Meanwhile, NTA announced earlier in the day that the NEET UG re-exam will now be held on Sunday, June 21. The decision comes amid widespread criticism and backlash over alleged flaws in the conduct of the exam and handling of the complaint process.