Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday reviewed the preparations for the re-examination of the National Eligibility Test for University Entrance Test (NEET-UG) 2026 on June 21, and directed officials to ensure that all loopholes in the examination process “should be comprehensively addressed and eliminated”.
These directions came days after the National Testing Agency (NTA) canceled the previous edition of NEET-UG 2026 on May 12 after at least 120 questions in the ‘guess paper’ overlapped with the May 3 exam, affecting over 2.2 million students.
“The Minister emphasized that the Re-NEET examination must be conducted in a safe, smooth and secured manner under strict security protocols. Directions have also been 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 vigil at the centers “shall remain unabated” and asked officials to ensure proper arrangements for students, including transportation, drinking water and basic facilities.
The meeting was attended by Higher Education Minister Vineet Joshi, School Education Minister Sanjay Kumar, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh, CBSE Chairman Rahul Singh, among others.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing the paper leak, has arrested 10 people, including Shivraj Raghunath Motegaonkar, founder of a coaching center in Latur; PV Kulkarni, retired chemistry lecturer from Pune; and Manisha Gurunath Mandhar, a botany teacher from Pune.
Kulkarni and Mandhari were part of NTA’s expert panel for NEET-UG 2026. A Delhi court on May 14 recorded the CBI’s statement that the leak was attributable to an “NTA source”.
People involved in the NTA’s paper-making process claimed that the paper could have only leaked “in printed form” from the NTA’s “bunker-like” secure area with possible insider involvement, while agency officials said the CBI would establish the facts.
An NTA official said the CBI was free to arrest all those involved, no matter how big or small they were. “Our immediate focus is preparations for the re-examination on June 21,” the official said.
Asked about the changes in the re-exam process, another official said: “These are confidential details. We don’t want the exam mafia to know any information that they can misuse. Paper leakage is an organized crime and we have to be really careful.”
The Center on May 16 appointed joint secretaries and joint directors to strengthen the leadership of NTA. The agency followed that with announcements on May 17 for three specialized leadership positions — chief technology officer (CTO), chief financial officer (CFO), and general manager of human resources (GM-HR) — which it said would help “modernize the agency and embed best-in-class systems across its operations.”
CBI officials expanded the investigation and questioned experts currently involved in preparing papers for the University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) examination in June 2026, raising concern within the NTA’s group of academic experts.
“Around 15 people linked to the preparation of UGC-NET papers were interrogated by CBI officials on May 16 and 17 at a Delhi hotel. They treated us as suspects even though we were not involved in preparing NEET papers. It was humiliating,” said an expert. “I have told NTA that I will not be working with them after my current contract expires in October.”
Another said many subject matter experts would now avoid NTA assignments. “No one wants to be drawn into an investigation that could drag on for years and damage a career. I will sever ties after my contract expires in December,” the person said, suggesting that the NTA may have problems forming a new committee.
However, NTA officials brushed aside these concerns, stressing that “many honest people in the world will come forward” to join future expert groups.
NEET-UG will shift to computer-based exam from next year to reduce paper leakage, Pradhan said on May 15.
