NTA prioritises June 21 NEET re-test, CBT shift planned from 2027

National Testing Agency officials informed a parliamentary panel that their immediate priority is conducting the June 21 NEET-UG re-test in pen-and-paper mode. The agency reiterated plans to shift NEET to a computer-based format from 2027 to strengthen examination security

New Delhi: Amid ongoing controversies around the conduct of NEET and CUET UG 2026, the top National Testing Agency (NTA) officials in a meeting told a parliamentary standing committee that the agency’s complete focus for now was to hold the June 21 NEET-UG re-test in pen-paper format, sources said on Monday.

The meeting was held by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports to discuss the pros and cons of the pen and paper testing system versus computer-based testing (CBT) used in examinations in the country.

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Top NTA officials, including its director general Abhishek Singh, who also attended the meeting, are learnt to have told the panel that it intends to hold the NEET exam in CBT format from 2027, but it is currently focused on holding the re-test in pen and paper format.

The NTA earlier informed the Supreme Court that NEET-UG will transition to the CBT format in 2027 to enhance examination security. The recommendation to transition to a computer-based test was made by a high-level expert committee.

Secretary (Higher Education) Vineet Joshi and Secretary (Health and Family Welfare) Punya Salila Srivastava were summoned by the Committee on Monday to appear before it to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the pen and paper and the CBT systems.

As per the agenda of the meeting on Monday, the panel was to consider and adopt the 381st Report on Action Taken by the Government on the Recommendations/Observations contained in the 364th Report on Demands for Grants (2025-26) of the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education.

Congress MP Digvijaya Singh chairs the Committee on Education.
The committee will again meet on Tuesday to review the use of the on-screen marking system (OSM) in CBSE exams and issues faced by students in the wake of technical glitches.

The issues have come following a row over the NEET-UG paper leak case and the CBSE OSM exam system, which impacted lakhs of students across the country.

Earlier, the secretary of Higher Education, CBI Director Praveen Sood and top officials of the Ministry of Education and the National Medical Council appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances on Friday.