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Pradhan reviews NEET re-exam preparations, says comprehensively eliminate all gaps
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan reviewed NEET-UG 2026 re-exam plans, ensuring security and addressing gaps after prior exam cancellation due to a paper leak.
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Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday reviewed preparations for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test-Undergraduate (NEET-UG) 2026 re-examination on June 21, and directed officials to ensure that all gaps in the examination process “must be comprehensively addressed and eliminated”.
The directions came days after the National Testing Agency (NTA) cancelled the previous edition of NEET-UG 2026 on May 12 after at least 120 questions in a “guess paper” overlapped with the May 3 examination, affecting more than 2.2 million students.
“The minister emphasised that the Re-NEET examination must be conducted in a secure, seamless and foolproof manner under stringent security protocols. Directions were also issued to hold coordination meetings with District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police across states to ensure robust monitoring and effective implementation,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
Pradhan also directed that vigilance at centres “must remain uncompromised” and asked officials to ensure adequate arrangements for students, including transportation, drinking water and essential facilities.
The meeting was attended by higher education secretary Vineet Joshi, school education secretary Sanjay Kumar, NTA director general Abhishek Singh, and CBSE chairperson Rahul Singh, among others.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is investigating the paper leak, has arrested 10 people, including Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, founder of a Latur-based coaching centre; PV Kulkarni, a retired Pune-based chemistry lecturer; and Manisha Gurunath Mandhare, a botany teacher from Pune.
Kulkarni and Mandhare were part of NTA’s expert panel for NEET-UG 2026. A Delhi court on May 14 recorded the CBI’s submission that the leak traced back to an “NTA source”.
Persons involved in NTA’s paper-setting process alleged the paper could have only leaked “in printed form” from NTA’s “bunker-like” secure zone with possible insider involvement, while agency officials said CBI would establish the facts.
An NTA official said CBI had a free hand to arrest everyone involved, irrespective of how senior or junior they may be. “Our immediate focus is preparations for the June 21 re-examination,” the official said.
Asked about process changes for the re-exam, another official said: “These are confidential details. We do not want exam mafia to know any information they can misuse. Paper leak is organised crime and we have to be really careful.”
The Centre on May 16 appointed two joint secretaries and two joint directors to strengthen NTA’s leadership. The agency followed this with advertisements on May 17 for three specialist leadership positions — Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Chief Finance Officer (CFO), and General Manager-Human Resources (GM-HR) — which it said would help in “modernising the Agency and embedding best-in-class systems across its operations.”
CBI officials have widened the probe and questioned experts currently involved in setting papers for the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) June 2026 exam, triggering anxiety within NTA’s academic expert pool.
“Around 15 people linked to UGC-NET paper-setting were questioned by CBI officials on May 16 and 17 at a Delhi hotel. They treated us like suspects even though we are not involved in NEET paper-setting. It was humiliating. I have told NTA I will not work with them after my current contract ends in October,” one expert said.
Another said many subject experts would now avoid NTA assignments. “Nobody wants to be dragged into a probe that can go on for years and damage careers. I will cut ties after my contract ends in December,” the person said, contending that NTA might face issues assembling a fresh panel.
NTA officials, however, brushed aside the apprehension, underlining that “many honest people in the world would come forward” to join future expert groups.
Pradhan said on May 15 that NEET-UG would shift to computer-based testing from next year to curb paper leaks.
