Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan chairs high-level review meeting ahead of NEET-UG re-exam

New Delhi: Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Wednesday convened a high-level meeting with former Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman Dr K Radhakrishnan to review preparedness for the NEET-UG re-examination, scheduled for June 21 across more than 5,400 centres in 550 cities nationwide.

The meeting was jointly chaired by Dr Radhakrishnan, who heads the High-Powered Steering Committee constituted to monitor the implementation of NTA reform recommendations. It was attended by the Secretary, Higher Education, the Director General of the NTA, and senior officials from the Ministry of Education.

The DG, NTA briefed the panel on additional measures taken to strengthen examination security, including a comprehensive review of existing surveillance mechanisms and plans for their further augmentation ahead of the re-examination.

“While emphasizing that examination security remains of paramount importance, Shri Pradhan stressed that equal priority must be given to ensuring adequate facilities and a student-friendly environment at examination centres across the country,” a ministry release stated.

The re-examination follows the NTA’s cancellation of the NEET-UG exam held on May 3 after allegations of irregularities and a paper leak emerged in the days following the test, for which nearly 23 lakh candidates had registered.

The government subsequently announced June 21 as the re-examination date and confirmed that NEET-UG is expected to shift to a computer-based format from 2027 to improve transparency and reduce the risk of malpractice.