The Union Ministries of Education and Health are deliberating whether the NEET-UG medical entrance exam should continue in its current pen-and-paper format or transition to an online mode, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stated on Tuesday. A decision is expected soon, with any changes likely to be implemented in the 2025 edition of the exam.

Pradhan noted that the Education Ministry has already held two rounds of discussions with the Health Ministry, led by Union Minister JP Nadda, to evaluate the feasibility of this transition. Currently, NEET-UG is conducted offline, requiring students to solve multiple-choice questions on OMR sheets. It is India’s largest entrance exam by participation, with over 24 lakh candidates taking the test in 2024.

“The Health Ministry, being the administrative authority for NEET, is in consultation with us regarding the mode of the examination. Whatever is deemed most suitable, the National Testing Agency (NTA) is prepared to undertake the necessary adjustments,” Pradhan said, adding that the government will notify stakeholders once a decision is finalized.

NEET serves as a gateway for admission into medical courses, including MBBS, with approximately 1,08,000 seats available nationwide. Of these, around 56,000 seats are in government medical colleges and 52,000 in private institutions. It also facilitates admissions for courses in Dentistry, Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha.

The idea of transitioning NEET to a computer-based test (CBT) has been explored in the past but gained renewed momentum following a paper leak controversy earlier this year. In response to concerns about exam integrity, the Centre formed a high-level panel in July, led by former ISRO chief R. Radhakrishnan, to propose reforms for exams conducted by the NTA.

The panel’s report suggests the adoption of multi-stage testing for NEET-UG, with clear protocols for scoring, ranking, and the number of attempts. It also recommended developing a robust framework to address vulnerabilities in the examination process.

NEET has faced scrutiny over irregularities, including alleged leaks, and is currently under investigation by the CBI. Similarly, the UGC-NET was canceled earlier this year due to compromised integrity, while CSIR-UGC NET and NEET-PG were preemptively called off to avoid potential issues.

The reform panel includes prominent academicians and administrators, such as former AIIMS Delhi director Dr. Randeep Guleria, Central University of Hyderabad Vice-Chancellor B. J. Rao, and IIT Madras Professor Emeritus K. Ramamurthy. The committee has also been tasked with examining security protocols for question paper development and proposing enhancements to ensure transparent and fair examinations. Two IIT Kanpur experts, Professor Amey Karkare and Assistant Professor Debapriya Roy, are among its members.

With inputs from PTI