NEET likely to go online, Centre mulling over possibility: Report

New Delhi: The MBBS entrance test- NEET will likely be conducted online in the coming years as the Centre is considering the possibility of holding the exam via Computer-based Test (CBT) mode, recent media reports have suggested. This comes after the Supreme Court recently admitted that the NEET paper leak took place and held that the exam's sanctity was compromised following the raging row over the alleged irregularities in the NEET conduct and consequent arrests made by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the NEET paper leak case.

According to the News18 report, the Health Ministry sources informed that the centre is considering switching NEET to CBT mode from pen-paper mode in view of the controversy surrounding the NEET paper leak.

Sources familiar with the development informed Hindustan Times that the Centre is considering moving the exam to CBT format on the lines of JEE-Mains which is conducted for engineering studies, in coming years.

“The idea has been doing the rounds in the committee concerned that has been assigned the job of making relevant changes but no formal direction has been issued so far. The controversy surrounding the competitive examinations (NEET-UG and other examinations) recently has added steam to the thought that there is a need for these exams to go online,” a central government official requesting anonymity informed Hindustan Times.

Another official added that this suggestion would require “major scaling up” as around 23 lakh students appeared for the test this year. “There are some 4,000 centres where the test is held across the country and to equip all those with computers and relevant infrastructure will be a challenge. However, there is no denying that it will be a good idea to conduct these exams online like JEE mains," he added.

News18 further added in its report that a discussion on this idea is being held and the authorities believe that if the exam is conducted online, the chances of the paper leak would be much lesser. The final decision from the Health Ministry and the National Medical Commission (NMC) is awaited.

Medical Dialogues has been extensively reporting on the controversy surrounding NEET 2024 conduct and its results. Shortly after the declaration of the results, candidates across the country alleged irregularities in NEET 2024 including 'arbitrary awarding of grace marks' and demands for re-NEET and re-result ensued.

Following the backlash, the National Testing Agency (NTA), the exam conducting body of NEET, released back-to-back clarifications on the NEET conduct. Further, the matter reached several high courts and the Supreme Court of India with multiple petitions filed before the benches. 

The matter is now being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) after the Central Government on June 22, 2024, handed over the charge of probing the alleged irregularities in the NEET UG 2024 examination to the CBI.

Recently, during the much-awaited hearing on the NEET matter, the Supreme Court stated that undoubtedly the NEET paper leak took place and the sanctity of the exam was compromised.