According to a statement released by the Union Ministry of Education on Friday, the NEET UG 2026, which was earlier postponed from May 27, is now scheduled to take place on June 21. The decision was made only days after allegations were made regarding a breach in the security of the question paper, causing panic amongst parents and candidates throughout the nation. "The Centre has taken a 'zero tolerance' stance towards malpractices in exams," said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan at his first press conference following the cancellation of the medical entrance test.
The NEET UG 2026 examination, which was earlier planned for May 3, had already been canceled by the NTA because of leaks in the exam paper prior to its administration. In addition, it came to the notice of the NTA that there were allegations of an alleged "guess paper" that contained questions from the examination on May 7. According to the minister, it took three to four days to ascertain that the questions were compromised.
Pradhan further added during the briefings, “It is accepted that there has been some loophole in the chain of command although the measures suggested by the Radhakrishnan Committee have been taken and it is our responsibility to set right this anomaly.” It became necessary for the university to cancel the exam, “To ensure transparency in the admission process.”
“We would not allow any money bag to snatch away seats from others,” said the minister. While it is saddening and disappointing that such an unfortunate incident took place, we had to take such a tough decision. It is our responsibility to ensure that there are no mistakes made in competitive exams.
Moreover, Pradhan went on to state that the NEET UG exam will be conducted via computers from the coming year. The reason for doing this is to add strength to the whole security system of this largest admission test in India, thereby reducing chances of any leaks happening.
The minister stated that the issue of alleged leakage of papers has now been transferred to the Central Bureau of Investigation, who will probe how this happened even after the implementation of Radhakrishnan committee's recommendations. Furthermore, he added that the government has been conducting a long fight against the 'exam mafia' and has assured students that there would be “no malpractice this time”.
