NEET in CBT mode from 2027: NTA tells Supreme Court

New Delhi: Following the paper leak controversy this year, the National Testing Agency (NTA) has informed the Supreme Court that it is all set to conduct the NEET UG exam in computer-based test (CBT) mode from next year instead of the pen and paper mode after consulting the Centre.

On its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the NTA posted, "In continuation of its press release dated 10 May 2026, the National Testing Agency wishes to inform candidates, parents, and members of the public of the following decisions taken in respect of NEET (UG) 2026. NTA had, on 8 May 2026, referred the matters then under consideration to the central agencies for independent verification and necessary action, consistent with its standing commitment to the fair, secure, and credible conduct of the national examinations entrusted to it. On the basis of the inputs subsequently examined by NTA in coordination with the central agencies, and the investigative findings shared by the law enforcement agencies and in order to ensure that there is transparency in the system, the National Testing Agency, with the approval of the Government of India, has decided to cancel the NEET (UG) 2026 examination conducted on 3 May 2026, and to re-conduct the examination on dates that will be notified separately."

This came in the backdrop of the probe by the Rajasthan Police Special Operations Group, which reportedly found a “guess paper” containing more than 100 questions similar to those asked in the NEET UG examination. The question paper series under scrutiny has been described as a “guess paper” which reportedly contained around 410 questions. Out of these, nearly 120 questions are alleged to have appeared in the Biology and Chemistry sections of the examination.

As an aftermath of the exam cancellation, protests were held, with aspirants and members of the medical fraternity blaming NTA and the Education Ministry for this failure. Even though a re-test has been announced and the Union Government has announced its decision to transition towards a Computer-based testing mode, demand for replacing NTA has been escalating.

Now, NEET will be conducted in CBT mode. The National Testing Agency (NTA), responsible for conducting the National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET), told the apex court yesterday, during the hearing of a batch of petitions related to the paper leak this year that led to the cancellation of the May 3 exam, as per PTI report.

In an affidavit filed before a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, the NTA said a high-level committee of experts (HLCE) has recommended transition of NEET-UG to CBT mode.

Also Read:From Digital locking to NTA overhaul- What NEET leak petitions in SC are demanding

It said that among the major NTA examinations, only NEET (UG) 2026 was conducted in the pen and paper (PPT) mode, primarily according to the scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Medical Commission.

It said all other major NTA examinations are already conducted in CBT mode.

"The HLCE has specifically recommended transition of NEET (UG) from PPT to CBT mode, along with the introduction of multi-session and multi-stage testing," said the affidavit filed by Director (Legal), NTA.

"The transition will be implemented from the next examination cycle in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (the client ministry for NEET-UG) - thereby bringing all major NTA examinations onto the CBT platform," it said.

The affidavit was filed in pursuance of the May 25 order passed by the apex court, which is hearing pleas, including the one seeking a direction to replace or restructure the NTA with a robust and autonomous body to conduct the medical entrance examination.

In its affidavit, the NTA said it has acted in good faith, with due diligence and in accordance with law to safeguard the integrity of the national examination system and the interests of a very large majority of bona-fide aspirants whose effort and integrity is not in question, and will not be devalued.

It said in June 2024, the Ministry of Education had constituted a HLCE under the Chairmanship of Dr K Radhakrishnan, a former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, to make recommendations for the reform of the NTA.

The affidavit said the HLCE had submitted its comprehensive report to the Centre in October 2024 and the report contained 101 recommendations.

It said with a view to ensuring that the recommendations contained in the HLCE report were implemented in a structured, time-bound and accountable manner, the ministry constituted a high-powered steering committee (HPSC) in November 2024 under the chairmanship of Radhakrishnan.

The NTA also gave details about the functioning of the HPSC.

"It is respectfully submitted that, under the oversight of the HPSC, the answering respondent (NTA) has implemented, or is in the advanced stages of implementing, a substantial body of the recommendations contained in the HLCE report," the affidavit said.

It said standard operating procedures for question-paper setting and vetting have been institutionalised.

It said the NEET (UG) 2026 examination was conducted on May 3 at 5,432 centres and over 22.05 lakh candidates appeared in the test.

"The re-examination scheduled on June 21, 2026 will be conducted under a further strengthened SOP framework, with multi-layer authentication, surveillance and inter-agency coordination, in line with the directions and oversight of the HPSC," the affidavit said.

It said the cancellation of the May 3 examination and reference of matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation "are themselves illustrative of the seriousness with which the answering respondent and the Government of India view examination integrity".

It said the decision was taken in the interest of students and in recognition of the trust on which the national examination system rests.

"All necessary cooperation is being extended by the answering respondent to CBI in the ongoing investigation," the NTA said.

Giving details of the way forward, the NTA said randomisation and the rotation policy are being further institutionalised for the engagement of paper setters, moderators, vetters, translators, proof readers, etc for high-stakes and sensitive examinations.

"Further, AI-based tools shall be used for at least 85 per cent of the translation work in order to minimise human intervention and reduce the time involved in the process and consequently lower the probability of any security compromise," it said.

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