The National Medical Commission (NMC) has asked all medical colleges not to grant leave to medical students on June 20 and 21 to prevent them from appearing as proxy candidates in the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination on Sunday.
The directive was issued based on the directives of the Department of Higher Education (DoHE) of the Federal Ministry of Education.
“This measure is intended to be a preventive step to discourage any potential misuse and support fair conduct of screening,” NMC Secretary Dr Raghav Langer said in a notification dated June 18.
The notification demanded “strict compliance” by all medical colleges and institutes.
Medical students were also prohibited from going on leave on May 2 and 3 this year in view of the NEET-UG 2026 exam held on May 3. The test was canceled on May 12 after allegations of a paper leak, including an overlap between a previously distributed guess sheet and the actual sheet. More than 2.27 million candidates have appeared for the May 3 examination.
On June 13, Health Ministry Secretary Vineet Joshi wrote to Union Health Ministry Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, urging vigilance and awareness among students against any involvement in malpractices. He also recommended preventing vacation for students on June 20 and 21, except in justified cases.
“In view of some of the cases reported in the past…all medical colleges must remain vigilant and ensure sensitization of medical students against any involvement in activities prejudicial to the conduct of examination,” the NMC notice said.
At least 7 MBBS students from Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan have been arrested in connection with NEET UG 2024 on charges that they either posed as proxy candidates for aspirants or were part of solution gangs, NMC, NTA and Education Department officials said.
“There were some instances in the past where various investigating agencies and the Education Ministry informed us that some medical students were involved in impersonation and sitting as proxy candidates. In order to ensure the sanctity of this examination, the Education Ministry has asked us to issue the notice and have asked the medical college to remain vigilant and not grant leaves to students on June 20 and 21,” a senior NMC official told HT, requesting anonymity.
NTA will conduct the re-test of NEET-UG in one shift from 2 pm to 5:15 pm in pen and paper mode on Sunday across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad for over 22.79 lakh candidates.
NEET-UG qualification is mandatory for admission to MBBS and other medical courses in UG.
More than 2,000 personnel were deployed across the country, including 674 city coordinators, 6,669 monitors, station supervisors and monitors, district administration officials, and police and escort teams. Personnel from the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) have also been engaged to assist in safe transportation, protection of classified screening material and overall security arrangements.
NTA also announced that it will send exam updates and center information directly to candidates via its verified WhatsApp account on +91 7827980287. The agency said this initiative aims to ensure essential information reaches candidates directly and reduce avoidable confusion.
