New Delhi, May 15, 2026 : Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday announced that the NEET-UG re-examination will be conducted on June 21, while declaring that the medical entrance examination will transition to Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode from next year as part of major reforms aimed at ensuring transparency and preventing malpractices.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Pradhan assured students that the government would not allow examination irregularities to recur and said protecting the future of students remained the Centre’s highest 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,” the minister said.
Pradhan acknowledged that the NEET paper leak had occurred through the circulation of so-called “guess papers” and said the government acted swiftly after confirming the breach.
“The verification process began on May 8 and continued till May 11. Once it became clear that questions had leaked on the basis of the paper leak conspiracy, the government decided to cancel the examination on May 12 in the interest of deserving students,” he stated.
The minister said the decision was necessary to ensure that honest candidates were not deprived of opportunities because of what he termed as a conspiracy by “education mafias.”
Referring to reforms introduced after previous examination controversies, Pradhan said the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee had already been implemented for the 2025 and 2026 examinations, but despite those measures, irregularities still surfaced.
He reiterated the government’s “zero tolerance” policy towards examination malpractice and defended the functioning of the National Testing Agency (NTA), stating that the agency remains fully accountable and conducts examinations for nearly one crore students every year.
“NTA is fully accountable. It was established following recommendations of the Supreme Court. We will ensure zero errors in the examination system,” Pradhan said.
The Union Minister also announced several relief measures for students appearing in the re-examination. He confirmed that fees paid by candidates for the cancelled examination would be refunded and no fee would be charged for the upcoming re-test.
In a major structural reform, Pradhan announced that from next year, NEET examinations will be conducted entirely in CBT mode to strengthen security and reduce chances of paper leaks.
The NTA will also allow candidates to reselect their preferred examination city, considering that many students may have returned to their hometowns after the cancellation of the earlier exam.
According to the minister, candidates will be given one week to update their examination city preferences once the official notification is issued.
Additionally, the examination duration has been extended by 15 minutes. The revised timing for the exam will now be from 2:00 PM to 5:15 PM to accommodate attendance procedures and other formalities.
Pradhan further said the Government of India would coordinate with state governments and Chief Ministers to ensure smooth transportation and minimise inconvenience for students appearing in the re-examination.
The Education Minister confirmed that admit cards for the NEET-UG re-examination will be issued by June 14.
