Will NEET 2025 Exam be Held Online or Pen-Paper Format? High-Level Committee Sheds Light

New Delhi: There is a possibility that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) examination, which is conducted in pen-and-paper mode, get switched to the Computer-Based Test (CBT) system. The Union Education Ministry is in conversation with the Union Health Ministry to decide on the pattern of holding the NEET-UG examination, PTI has reported.

In this regard, the High-Level Committee, set up to suggest reforms in the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test Undergraduate (NEET-UG) examination and the National Testing Agency (NTA), has opined that every district headquarters should have a standardized and well-equipped CBT (Computer-Based Test) testing centre.

Headed by former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chief R Radhakrishnan, the high-level panel was set up by the Central Government in July to ensure transparent, smooth, and fair conduct of examinations by NTA. Centre constituted the panel amid the alleged irregularities in NEET-UG and PhD Entrance Test NET.

While NEET-UG was under the scanner over several irregularities, including alleged leaks, the UGC-NET (University Grants Commission – National Eligibility Test) was cancelled as the ministry received input that its integrity had been compromised. Both matters are being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Two other exams — CSIR-UGC NET and NEET-PG — were cancelled at the last moment as a pre-emptive step.

Medical Dialogues had earlier reported that the panel had earlier recommended introducing some major changes in conducting the NEET exam such as holding the exam online or through hybrid mode (when online mode is not possible to implement), not opting for private exam centres, shifting to a 2-phase exam pattern for NEET, and introducing a restriction to the number of attempts to appear in the NEET UG examination.

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

Reforms Suggested by High-Level Panel: 

Suggesting restructuring of the NTA, the committee recommended 10 specific verticals, headed at the director level. The verticals will be related to technology, products, operations, test security, and surveillance.

It was recommended by the panel to introduce a DIGI-EXAM system on the lines of DIGI-YATRA to ensure that only the candidate writing the exam joined the intended programme.

"Essentially, multi-stage authentication of the candidate’s identity is envisaged which makes use of Aadhar and biometrics and AI-based data analytics," said the panel.

Laying down a roadmap for testing centres, the panel suggested that it was possible to integrate such testing centres from Kendriya Vidyalyas, Navodaya Vidyalayas, reputable universities and institutes to establish a nationwide network of about 400-500 testing centres within a time frame of a year or so, which would provide about 2-2.5 lakh testing capacity for conducting CBT in one session nationwide.

"Eventually, one could envisage that every district headquarter should have a standardised and well-equipped CBT testing centre," it said.

Limiting NTA's Role to Conducting Entrance Exams Only: 

Meanwhile, the high-level panel has also suggested reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA), the authority in charge of conducting the NEET UG examination. The high-level panel noted that the NTA outstretched itself to accommodate diverse requests from many test indenting agencies for handling end-to-end operations of tests.

In its report, the panel said, "The NTA should primarily conduct entrance examinations. Enhancing its scope for other examinations may be considered after the capacity of the NTA is augmented."

Confirming that shortening of responsibilities for NTA, the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan announced on Tuesday that NTA would not conduct any recruitment exams from 2025, instead it would focus only on higher education entrance tests.

He further mentioned that the agency will be restructured next year and new posts are being created. "The National Testing Agency (NTA) will be limited to conducting only entrance exams for higher education and not conduct any recruitment exams from next year," Pradhan told reporters.

Apart from this, the education ministry is also in conversation with the health ministry on conducting NEET in the traditional pen-and-paper mode or switch to a Computer Based Test (CBT).

The high-level panel included former AIIMS-Delhi director Randeep Guleria; Central University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor BJ Rao; K Ramamurthy, professor emeritus in IIT-Madras’ Department of Civil Engineering; People Strong co-founder and Karmayogi Bharat board member Pankaj Bansal; IIT-Delhi Dean of Student Affairs Aditya Mittal; and Govind Jaiswal, a joint secretary in the education ministry.

The committee was also tasked with examining the existing security protocols related to the setting of papers and other processes for various examinations and making recommendations to enhance the robustness of the system.

Also Read: What Changes Did High-Powered Committee Suggest in NTA? Education Ministry Responds to RTI