Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi
New Delhi, May 15: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday announced that the NEET re-examination will be conducted on June 21 after the government confirmed that the original question paper had been leaked through so-called “guess papers”.
Addressing a press conference, Pradhan said the breach occurred despite reforms introduced following the 2024 NEET paper leak controversy.
“Despite following the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee, there was a breach in the command chain. We accept it and take responsibility to improve it,” the minister said.
The committee headed by former ISRO chairman K Radhakrishnan had reportedly recommended 95 reforms aimed at strengthening the examination process after last year’s leak controversy.
According to Pradhan, the NEET examination was conducted on May 3, and by May 7 the National Testing Agency (NTA) had received complaints that several questions circulating in “guess papers” matched the actual exam paper.
He said the Higher Education Department subsequently initiated an enquiry and involved central agencies, which worked with state authorities before confirming by May 12 that the examination paper had indeed been compromised.
Responding to questions regarding the alleged involvement of insiders within the NTA, the minister said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would carry out a detailed probe into the matter.
“CBI is a trustworthy agency, and it will investigate the matter thoroughly,” he stated.
Pradhan said the government decided to cancel the examination to protect honest students from being affected by what he described as an organised network of fraudsters and the “education mafia”.
He added that several recommendations made by the Radhakrishnan Committee had already been implemented for NEET 2025 and 2026, but the leak still occurred despite those safeguards.
Key Updates for Students
The Union Minister also announced several measures ahead of the re-examination process:
• The NEET UG re-examination will be held on June 21, 2026.
• Students will be allowed to choose their preferred exam cities to reduce travel difficulties.
• Fresh admit cards for the re-exam will be released on June 14 through the official NTA website.
• Candidates will not be required to register again and can use their existing application credentials to download hall tickets.
The announcement comes amid widespread concern among students and parents following the cancellation of the examination due to the confirmed paper leak.