After announcing that the NEET-UG retest will be held on June 21, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday addressed the controversy surrounding the paper leak, while asserting the government’s firm commitment to protecting the sanctity of the exam.
Speaking at a media briefing, Pradhan expressed regret over the incident and said the decision to conduct a retest was a “difficult but necessary” step. “We will not allow a moneybag to take anybody’s seat away,” he said, adding that the government was “sad and worried” about the unfortunate development.
“We had to take this difficult step. Our responsibility is to ensure there are zero errors,” Pradhan added. He admitted that a breach had occurred somewhere in the chain of command, despite the implementation of the Radhakrishnan Committee’s recommendations, and accepted responsibility for fixing the issue.
Key announcements from Pradhan’s media briefing:
Students to get preferred exam city option, admit cards by June 14
To ease the process for students, the ministry will allow candidates to choose their preferred city for the retest, with the window for exercising this option remaining open. Admit cards for the retest will be issued by June 14.
NEET-UG 2026 exam duration increased by 15 minutes
The duration of the examination has also been extended by 15 minutes. As per the revised schedule, the NEET-UG 2026 exam will begin at 2 pm and conclude at 5:15 pm.
NEET-UG to shift to computer-based format from next year
Pradhan also announced a major overhaul in the examination process, saying that from next year, NEET UG will shift to a computer-based format. The change is intended to minimise the chances of paper leaks and further strengthen the security framework of one of the country’s biggest entrance examinations.
Pradhan further said that the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) will carry out a detailed investigation into the alleged examination irregularities and thoroughly probe the paper leak case. He also assured students that no fee would be charged for the re-examination.
Detailing the sequence of events, Pradhan said the controversy surfaced after complaints were received about a so-called “guess paper” that allegedly contained questions appearing in the actual examination.
“The exam took place on May 3 and on May 7, NTA received a complaint that the guess paper had some questions that were present in the question sheets this time,” the minister said.
He said the Higher Education Department promptly initiated an inquiry and referred the matter to investigating agencies, while state agencies were also involved in the probe. “By May 12, we were confirmed that, under the guise of a guess paper, the actual examination questions had indeed been leaked,” he added.