NEET should be held multiple times annually- Parliamentary panel recommends

New Delhi: In the wake of the NEET UG 2026 paper leak controversy, members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare have suggested conducting the medical entrance examination multiple times a year to reduce stress on students and prevent them from losing an entire academic year due to circumstances beyond their control.

NEET-UG, India's largest medical entrance examination, is at present conducted once a year in a single sitting. The examination held on May 3 this year was cancelled following allegations of a paper leak.

According to ANI report, the National Eligibility-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) should be conducted multiple times a year to reduce pressure on students and ensure they do not lose an entire academic year, members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare suggested on Wednesday.

Sources said the committee discussed the recent NEET-UG paper leak controversy and was briefed by officials from the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the National Medical Commission (NMC) on the sequence of events, inquiries conducted so far, and measures taken in response to the alleged breach.

The Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare heard the views of the officials on 'Conduct of NEET examinations under NMC Act, 2019' as part of detailed examination of the subject 'Organisational Structure, Mandate and Functional Proficiency of Regulatory Institutions pertaining to Ministry of Health and Family Welfare'.

NTA Director General Abhishek Singh, Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi and NMC Chairman Abhijat C Sheth were among those who presented their views to the committee. The Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare is headed by Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav.

This is the third time in recent weeks that government officials appeared before parliamentary panels in connection with the cancellation of the NEET-UG examination held in May over allegations of a paper leak. The exam has been rescheduled for June 21.

A major concern raised by MPs was the recurring nature of such incidents, sources said. Members are learnt to have pointed out that similar controversies had surfaced in 2024 and again in 2026, raising questions over accountability and whether existing punitive measures are adequate to prevent future breaches.

"All the MPs discussed the need to move forward on this because it is not a one-time issue, it has become a recurring problem. Since it happened in 2024 and again in 2026, the question is who is accountable for it, how accountability should be fixed, and whether the punishment is sufficient to ensure such incidents do not happen again," a source said.

According to sources, members also suggested conducting NEET-UG two or three times a year so that students get multiple opportunities to clear the examination and do not suffer due to factors beyond their control.

"Members suggested that there should be multiple NEET examinations throughout the year, at least two or three, because when a student misses out on an entire year of education due to somebody else's fault, it has a very deep impact on the students," the source said.

Government officials are learnt to have informed the panel that the suggestion would be examined.

The demand for conducting NEET multiple times a year has been raised repeatedly by student groups. In July 2018, then Union HRD Minister Prakash Javadekar announced that NTA would conduct JEE Main and NEET-UG twice a year. However, this was never implemented.

The National Medical Commission in 2023, however, stated that holding NEET-UG twice a year would not be feasible as all MBBS seats are filled through a single counselling process.

Officials also informed the panel that the government is considering introducing Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for NEET from the next examination cycle. However, MPs emphasised the need of smooth transition, particularly for students from rural areas, citing issues of digital access, infrastructure, and the need for the availability of examination papers in regional languages, the sources said.