In a major policy shift, the government is considering introducing significant reforms to the NEET-UG examination, including capping the number of attempts and setting an upper age limit for aspirants, according to a Hindustan Times report.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) informed a Parliamentary panel on Thursday that these measures, alongside a transition to computer-based testing, form the next phase of reforms based on the Radhakrishnan Committee's recommendations. Currently, NEET-UG has no upper age limit and no cap on attempts, with the only eligibility threshold being a minimum age of 17 years.
The announcement comes in the backdrop of NTA cancelling NEET-UG 2026 after at least 120 questions in a "guess paper" overlapped with the paper held on May 3. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan had separately announced on May 15 that NEET-UG would move to a digital format from next year.
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War of words at Parliamentary panel meet
According to the HT report, the meeting witnessed heated exchanges, with BJP MPs objecting to use of the word "leak" both in proceedings and in the agenda. Opposition members objected to the BJP's position, while NTA and the ministry maintained that "it was not a leak." The 31-member committee is headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh and comprises 17 BJP members, four Congress, three Samajwadi, two TMC, and one each from DMK and NCP-SP.
Mixed Reactions To Proposed Caps
The proposals on age limit and cap on total attempts have drawn split reactions from stakeholders, HT reported. Ajai Singh, vice chancellor of UP University of Medical Sciences Saifai, welcomed the move, stating, "Beyond a point, the ability to learn new skills and cope with the rigours of medical training declines. We already have such limits in several competitive examinations, and it is important to ensure students do not spend years repeatedly attempting one exam at the cost of their academic and professional growth.”
However, Pritesh Maurya, a NEET coaching teacher from Lucknow, cautioned any cap must be announced well in advance. "Strict limits could disadvantage rural and economically weaker students, especially those from state school boards with weaker schooling backgrounds. While some limit is needed to prevent students from spending years repeatedly attempting the exam, candidates should be allowed attempts at least till around 25 years of age," he said.
Investigation And Reform Implementation
NTA told the panel it received inputs on "alleged malpractice" late on May 7, escalated them to central agencies on May 8, and cancelled the examination on May 12. The re-test will be held on June 21. The CBI has arrested 10 accused so far.
NTA outlined Phase-1 reforms already in place, including Aadhaar-linked biometric verification, face authentication, multi-layer frisking, mobile jammers, and AI-enabled CCTV surveillance. Phase-2 reforms under planning include cloud-based infrastructure, stronger cryptographic protocols, and an NTA-owned public testing platform.
NTA currently has computer-based test (CBT) capacity for 1,50,000 candidates per shift, and aims to expand that to 10 lakh within a year. This year, NEET-UG was taken by over 22 lakh candidates. The Radhakrishnan panel, which submitted 95 recommendations in October 2024, had flagged multi-stage testing as a "viable possibility."
The leak appears to have originated within NTA's own paper-setting process, with appointed experts allegedly disclosing questions to students for exorbitant costs at coaching classes weeks before the examination, the report stated.
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