NEET Retest In Focus As NTA Defends Safeguards, Doctors’ Group Barred From Panel Presentation

Amid a row over the conduct of NEET and CUET UG 2026, representatives of the United Doctors Front on Monday were not allowed to make a presentation before a parliamentary standing committee following objections from ruling party members, sources said.

According to sources on Monday, senior National Testing Agency (NTA) officials informed a parliamentary standing committee that the agency's sole priority at this time is to conduct the June 21 NEET-UG retest correctly in pen and paper format.

According to PTI, the NTA was questioned by the committee chairman and other members regarding the measures put in place to stop any paper leaks this time. They were reassured by the officials that appropriate actions had been taken.

Concerns over the possibility of hacking in computer-based tests were also voiced by committee members. In response, NTA representatives stated that a special committee has been established to look into this matter, and a report is anticipated in three months.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports met to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of computer-based testing (CBT), which is utilised in national exams, as opposed to pen-and-paper testing.

According to sources, the committee also invited representatives of the United Doctors Forum to present, but they were turned down due to strong opposition from BJP members. The United Doctors Forum has filed a petition before the Supreme Court alleging systemic failure and the examination process compromised in the wake of the NEET-UG paper leak controversy.

The UDF had also demanded dissolution of the National Testing Agency (NTA) in its current form and be replaced with a statutory body.

Meanwhile, Chairman of Parliamentary Committee and Congress member Digvijaya Singh stated that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken personal responsibility for conducting the NEET exam on June 21, there should be no further paper leaks and the exam should proceed smoothly.

"It has come in the public domain that the prime minister is so miffed with the failures and incompetence of Dharmendra Pradhan that he has taken up all the responsibilities himself. Hence, it is his responsibility now, and we have faith that all things will be held right. If now too, there is something wrong, then we would have to seek the resignation of the prime minister himself.

"We are hoping that there would be no paper leak under him, but if a paper leak happens now, then we would have to demand the resignation of the prime minister, instead of Pradhan," Singh said.

It is reported that top NTA officials, including its director general Abhishek Singh, who was present at the meeting, informed the panel that the organization plans to organise the NEET exam in CBT format starting in 2027, but for now, it is concentrating on effectively administering the retest in pen and paper format.

In order to improve exam security, the NTA had previously notified the Supreme Court that NEET-UG would switch to the CBT format in 2027. A high-level expert committee recommended switching to a computer-based test.

The committee also called in Punya Salila Srivastava, the secretary of health and family welfare, and Vineet Joshi, the secretary of higher education, on Monday to debate the advantages and disadvantages of CBT versus the pen-and-paper testing method.

The 381st Report on Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations/Observations contained in the 364th Report on Demands for Grants (2025-26) of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, was to be considered and adopted by the panel in accordance with the meeting's agenda.

The committee will meet again on Tuesday to discuss how the on-screen marking system (OSM) is used in CBSE exams and to discuss the problems that students have encountered because of technological difficulties.

The issues have come following a row over the NEET-UG paper leak case and the CBSE OSM exam system, which impacted lakhs of students across the country.

Earlier, the secretary of Higher Education, CBI Director Praveen Sood and top officials of the Ministry of Education and the National Medical Council appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances on Friday.

Meanwhile, in a post on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "It is impossible for any reasonable mind to have any faith in the Pradhan Mantri and his ‘system.’"