NEET to be shifted from pen-paper to CBT mode from 2027: Union education minister

New Delhi: While National Testing Agency (NTA) sources said that shifting the NEET UG examination from pen-and-paper mode to online mode is not possible this year and would require nearly 20 days continuously for all the candidates to complete the exam if implemented, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced that a computer- based examination model will be implemented from 2027.

Addressing a press conference in the capital, Pradhan said there was an urgent need to conduct the examinations online, indicating that the Centre has made up its mind to move from the paper-based format to the computer-based examination model.

Minister Pradhan’s statement comes in the backdrop of NEET-UG paper leaks and subsequent exam cancellation, leaving lakhs of students anxious, angry and disappointed over the state of affairs, in the way NTA is conducting competitive examinations.

The Education Minister informed the press that the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee had been implemented, but admitted that a breakdown had happened somewhere in the chain of command. He also assured that corrective steps are being undertaken to strengthen the system.

A High-Level Committee headed by former ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan was constituted on June 22, 2024, after the 2024 paper leak controversy to suggest measures for ensuring a foolproof examination process.

The committee recommended structural reforms, enhanced examination security systems, institutional coordination mechanisms, and standard operating procedures to prevent future breaches in both pen-and-paper and computer-based examinations. Among them, conducting the examination entirely online was among the key recommendations made by the committee. 

Also read- NTA, NMC, education ministry served legal notice over NEET 2026 cancellation

Pradhan also called it a “long and sustained fight” against the education mafia in the country. He said the Central Bureau of Investigation has already launched a detailed probe at multiple levels into the breach and will soon find out how the miscreants and mafia managed to break into the “fool-proof” system.

Further assuring students and allaying their apprehensions, he said told IANS, "The entire government machinery will ensure no malpractices happen this time."

The NEET UG 2026 exam was conducted on May 3 by the National Testing Agency and was held from 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in pen-and-paper mode. Over 22.7 lakh aspirants appeared for the examination this year. It took place across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, covering over 5,400 centres.

However, on May 12, 2026, the NTA cancelled the examination after the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group found a "guess paper" which contained more than 100 questions similar to those asked in the NEET UG examination. The question paper series under scrutiny, described as a "guess paper", reportedly contained around 410 questions. Out of these, nearly 120 questions reportedly appeared in the Biology and Chemistry sections of the examination.

On May 15, 2026, the agency announced that the re-examination would be held on June 21, 2026, following approval from the Government of India.

"Aspirants will get an opportunity to choose their choice of city for appearing in re-examinations. A window of one week will be given to aspirants," he stated. He also said that 15 minutes of extra time will be given to students for filling in the details in OMR sheet.

He also said that the NTA has taken two decisions on the NEET-UG Exam cancellation day, i.e. the candidates will be refunded the fees of the examinations, and no extra fees will be charged for the re-examination.

Medical Dialogues recently reported that a senior official from the NTA informed that around 22.05 lakh candidates appeared for the examination out of the 22.79 lakh who had registered, which is a large number and to conduct the examination online for all candidates successfully, it would take nearly 20 days continuously. Therefore the official said that implementing the hybrid mode is not possible this year. 

Now, Dharmendra Pradhan has officially announced that the National Eligibility Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) will shift to a computer-based examination model from next year.

However, his statement has raised serious practical concerns among students and parents. Speaking to Medical Dialogues, Brijesh Sutaria Medical Education activist said, "If the Government of India could not build the infrastructure over the last 10 years to accommodate nearly 25 lakh aspirants in a single shift online examination, then a very important question arises how will such a massive nationwide infrastructure realistically be created within just one year?"

"Just yesterday, senior officials themselves stated that India currently lacks the infrastructure to conduct a single day computer based exam for nearly 25 lakh aspirants and highlighted issues related to multiple shifts, normalization, internet connectivity, electricity, technical manpower, and accessibility for rural students. Today’s statement about a full online transition therefore appears contradictory unless the Government clearly explains its implementation roadmap," he added. 

He said that if the Government is planning NEET UG in CBT mode, it should remain a single national examination and not a multi slot exam spread across several days. "The moment multiple shifts are introduced, normalization comes into play. In my opinion, normalization is unfair in a highly competitive merit based examination like NEET and should not determine the future of medical aspirants. Every student must write the same paper, at the same time, under the same conditions. NEET was introduced with the principle of One Nation, One Exam. That spirit and fairness must remain protected while implementing any future reforms," he said. 

Also read- NEET exam in CBT mode not possible this year: NTA