New Delhi, May 15: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday announced that the National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the NEET-UG re-examination on June 21 and said the exam will shift to Computer- Based Test (CBT) mode from next year as part of reforms aimed at ensuring transparency.

Pradhan said the Centre has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy against examination malpractice and asserted that no deserving candidate would lose an opportunity because of the “education mafia”.

Pradhan assured the students that they would not let malpractice happen again in the examination and said the government's topmost priority was the future of students.

"Our topmost priority is the future of the students, and the government is sensitive towards their hard work and efforts. We will not let malpractice happen this time. The government is with you. We had to make a difficult decision in the interest of the nation. We are very sad," Pradhan said.

Addressing a press conference, the Education Minister admitted that questions had gone out under the guise of "guess papers".

"Questions have gone out under the guise of guess papers," Pradhan said.

He said the verification process began on May 8 and continued over the next four days before the Centre decided to cancel the examination on May 12.

"The process began on the morning of May 8 and continued through May 8, 9, 10 and 11. When we got clarity and were confirmed that questions had gone out this time on the basis of the leaked paper, we made a decision on May 12 in the interest of the students. We did not want any deserving candidate to be deprived of their rights because of the conspiracy of education mafias," he said.

Pradhan said the government followed a zero-tolerance approach towards examination irregularities and had implemented the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee after issues surfaced in the previous year.

"After the irregularities that surfaced last time, the Radhakrishnan Committee had been constituted, and we implemented its recommendations word for word for both 2025 and 2026. Despite that, this incident occurred. Hence, our first decision was to cancel the examination," he said.

The Union Minister defended the NTA and said the agency remained fully accountable.

"NTA is fully accountable... The NTA is in the hands of an able person... It has been formed with the recommendation of the Supreme Court and conducts examination of nearly 1 crore students each year... We will ensure 0 errors in the NTA," he said, while adding that the issue should be viewed as a challenge related to the examination process rather than any individual institution.

The Education Minister also announced reforms, including refunding fees paid by students and waiving charges for the upcoming examination. "We will return the fees of the students. Zero fees in the upcoming examination," Pradhan said.

He further announced that from next year, the NEET examination will be held in CBT mode as part of efforts to strengthen the examination process and prevent irregularities.

Pradhan further said the NTA will allow students to choose their preferred examination city again.

"A large number of students appear for this examination every year. The NTA will issue a detailed public notice by this evening with complete information. Prima facie, the NTA has decided to give students one week to choose their preferred examination city again, because many candidates may have left the city where they appeared for the previous exam," Pradhan said.

The Union Minister also announced that the duration of the examination would be extended by 15 minutes to facilitate formalities such as signing attendance sheets and other procedures.

"Keeping students' convenience and time constraints in mind, the NTA has decided to extend the examination duration by 15 minutes. The exam, which was scheduled from 2 pm to 5 pm, will now continue till 5:15 pm," he said.

"The Government of India will speak to the states regarding transportation, and I will also personally speak with Chief Ministers so that students face minimal difficulties," he added.

Pradhan said admit cards for the examination would be issued to all candidates by June 14.