The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Friday told the Supreme Court of India that it is all set to conduct the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) Undergraduate (UG) exam in computer-based test (CBT) mode from next year instead of the pen and paper mode, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. The decision has been made after consulting the centre, the agency added.
The NTA, responsible for conducting the NEET, made the statement before the top court, which is hearing a batch of petitions related to the NEET UG 2026 paper leak that led to the cancellation of the May 3 exam.
In an affidavit filed before a bench of Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe, the NTA said a high-level committee of experts (HLCE) has recommended transition of NEET UG to computer-based test mode.
It said that among the major NTA examinations, only NEET UG 2026 was conducted in the pen and paper mode, primarily according to the scheme of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Medical Commission. It further stated that all other major NTA examinations are already conducted in CBT mode.
According to the report, the HLCE has specifically recommended the transition of NEET UG from pen-and-paper mode to CBT mode, along with the introduction of multi-session and multi-stage testing, the affidavit stated.
“The transition will be implemented from the next examination cycle in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (the client ministry for NEET UG), thereby bringing all major NTA examinations onto the CBT platform,” it said.
The affidavit was filed in pursuance of the May 25 order passed by the top court, which is hearing pleas, including the one seeking a direction to replace or restructure the NTA with a robust and autonomous body to conduct the medical entrance examination.
In its affidavit, the NTA said it has acted in good faith, with due diligence and in accordance with law to safeguard the integrity of the national examination system and the interests of a very large majority of bona-fide aspirants whose effort and integrity is not in question, and will not be devalued.
In June 2024, the Ministry of Education had constituted a HLCE under the Chairmanship of Dr K Radhakrishnan, a former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, to make recommendations for reforms. The affidavit said the HLCE had submitted its comprehensive report to the centre in October 2024 and the report contained 101 recommendations.
It said with a view to ensure that the recommendations contained in the HLCE report were implemented in a structured, time-bound and accountable manner, the ministry constituted a high-powered steering committee (HPSC) in November 2024 under the chairmanship of Radhakrishnan.
The NEET UG 2026 examination was conducted on May 3 at 5,432 centres and over 22.05 lakh candidates appeared in the test, as per the official information.
“The re-examination scheduled on June 21, 2026 will be conducted under a further strengthened SOP framework, with multi-layer authentication, surveillance and inter-agency coordination, in line with the directions and oversight of the HPSC,” the affidavit stated.
It said the cancellation of the May 3 examination and reference of matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for investigation “are themselves illustrative of the seriousness with which the answering respondent and the Government of India view examination integrity”.
The decision was taken in the interest of students and in recognition of the trust on which the national examination system rests, the agency added.
