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Centre deploys 36 senior officials across states for NEET-UG re-exam on June 21

Thirty-six senior officials will coordinate the June 21 NEET-UG re-exam across states, ensuring integrity and transparency, following a review meeting.

Updated on: Jun 19, 2026, 08:29:29 IST
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As many as 36 senior officials designated by the Union education ministry will reach the states and Union Territories (UTs) to coordinate the June 21 NEET-UG re-examination process and will report to a command centre in Delhi headed by National Testing Agency (NTA) director general Abhishek Singh, officials said on Thursday.

The NEET UG exam will be held again on June 21. (Representative image)
The NEET UG exam will be held again on June 21. (Representative image)

The decision was taken during a high-level review meeting chaired by Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan to assess preparedness for the NEET-UG re-examination.

Also read | The human toll of NEET: 11 reported suicides after paper leak forced re-test

The meeting held in hybrid mode was attended by 222 participants including senior officials and functionaries of NTA, ministry of education, state governments, UT administrations, nodal officers of centrally funded institutes, vice chancellors and directors of higher educational institutes across the country.

Addressing the meeting, Pradhan emphasised the importance of maintaining the highest standards of integrity, transparency and efficiency in the examination process and directed all concerned authorities to remain vigilant and fully prepared.

“He urged the officials concerned to ensure that necessary measures were in place for the free and fair conduct of the re-examination,” the ministry said in a statement.

36 senior officials on duty

Pradhan said that officers designated by the ministry will co-ordinate between states and NTA.

“There are 36 senior officials designated by the ministry. One official will be posted in each state and UT. They will co-ordinate with state nodal officers and report to the main command centre in NTA’s building in Delhi,” a senior education ministry official told HT.

Pradhan asked the designated nodal officers of the state governments to ensure that students were provided all necessary facilities to enable them to appear for the re-examination in a stress-free environment.

NTA DG Singh said that agency was working with all concerned stakeholders including the district level coordination committees headed by the DMs, state police departments and intelligence agencies to ensure that the re-examination was conducted smoothly.

NEET-UG 2026 held on May 3 was called off on May 12 following allegations of a paper leak, including purported overlaps between a pre-circulated guess paper and the actual paper. More than 2.27 million candidates had appeared for the May 3 examination. .

 
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sanjay Maurya

Sanjay Maurya is a Principal Correspondent with Hindustan Times, where he covers education, with a focus on school and higher education, competitive examinations, education policy and governance. Working as part of the National Bureau, he is based in New Delhi and reports on the Ministry of Education and covers various statutory bodies like UGC, AICTE and NCTE and autonomous bodies like CBSE and NCERT. His reporting also tracks the implementation of key government reforms and policies from school education to higher education including in IITs, NITs, IIMs, central and state universities, and their impact on students and educational institutions. His reporting on the irregularities and rushed implementation of CBSE's On-Screen Marking (OSM) system for evaluation of Class 12 board exams 2026, triggered administrative action, leading to the transfer of the board's two senior-most officials and the constitution of a committee to probe alleged irregularities in procurement process of the system. He joined Hindustan Times in December 2024. Prior to that, he had a three-year stint at Careers360, where he reported on school and higher education, entrance examinations, admissions, rankings and various education policies involving universities and professional education bodies. Over the years, Maurya has reported extensively on major developments in India's education sector, including the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, reforms in the National Testing Agency (NTA) following the NEET-UG 2024 controversy, changes in school education, higher education regulation, and the evolution of entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. He regularly produces data-driven and explanatory stories based on government documents, parliamentary proceedings, court records and official data. His focus remains on helping readers understand how education policies and institutional decisions affect millions of students, teachers and educational institutions across the country.

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