Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday (May 15, 2026) said that the National Testing Agency will conduct a re-exam for NEET UG 2026 on June 21 and said the exam will shift to a computer-based test from next year onwards to ensure transparency.

The NTA on Tuesday (May 12, 2026) announced the cancellation of NEET-UG and said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the alleged irregularities linked to the exam.

“From next year, the NEET exam will be conducted in a computer-based format. The main root of the leak is the Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheets. CBI will thoroughly investigate the leak issue,” said Mr. Pradhan.

He stated that the Government would not let the malpractice happen again and that it was sensitive to the hard work that students put in for exam preparation.

The Union Minister added that fees paid by students would be refunded, and there would be zero fees for students sitting in the re-exam.

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The NTA will also allow students to choose their preferred exam city again.

15 minutes extension

The examination duration will be extended by 15 minutes to accommodate formalities such as signing attendance sheets. Accordingly, exams scheduled from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. will now conclude at 5.15 p.m.

“The Government of India will speak with States regarding transportation and I will personally speak with CMs so students face minimal difficulties,” Mr. Pradhan said. He also said all students would get their admit cards by June 14.

On the incident of the alleged paper leak, he said, “After exams were conducted on May 3, the NTA got a complaint on grievance redressal on May 7 that there may be a leak due to the circulation of a guess paper. We conducted investigations from May 8 to 11 and confirmed that the guess paper was an excuse to leak questions out.

“We didn’t want any wrong candidate, due to the conspiracy of the education mafia, to rob merit-based candidates of their rightful seat. We have implemented the Radhakrishnan Committee recommendations, despite which this leak has happened. So we have banned the exam on May 12,” said Mr. Pradhan.

Mr. Pradhan also backed the NTA, amid calls for the testing agency to be scrapped.

“NTA has been formed by the Supreme Court recommendations and conducts exams for one crore students each year. We will ensure zero errors, said Mr. Pradhan, adding that the issue should be viewed as a challenge related to examinations rather than an individual institution.