Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Tuesday chaired meeting to assess preparations for the forthcoming NEET (UG) Re-Examination and demanded a foolproof conduct under strict security protocols.
During the high-level meeting, Pradhan stressed on the need for complete integrity and transparency in the conduct of the examination. He directed that all gaps identified in the earlier examination process must be comprehensively addressed and eliminated.
He emphasised that the re-NEET examination must be conducted in a secure, seamless and fool proof manner under stringent security protocols.
The NEET UG re-exam will be held on June 21 from 2 PM to 5:15 PM. It will be conducted in pen-and-paper mode in various cities across India and abroad. The exam will be held in 13 languages: English, Oriya, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Urdu, Marathi, Malayalam, Gujarati, Punjabi, Assamese, and Kannada.
According to an official statement, directions were also issued to hold coordination meetings with District Magistrates and Superintendents of Police across States to ensure robust monitoring and effective implementation of examination arrangements.
While underscoring that vigilance and security at examination centres must remain uncompromised, the Education Minister also instructed officials to ensure adequate arrangements for students, including transportation, drinking water and other essential facilities.
The NTA has clarified that no additional fee will be charged for the NEET UG re-exam. Moreover, any fee already paid will be refunded. Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has also assured this. From May 21, the NTA will activate a separate module for candidates to submit their bank account details for fee refunds. Candidates will need to enter their bank details in this module.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), conducted on May 3, was cancelled after allegations of irregularities and paper leaks surfaced.
Following this, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi accused the government over the NEET paper leak, said 22 lakh students were cheated, and urged PM Narendra Modi to sack Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
On May 21, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports will seek the views of top education ministry officials on the alleged paper leak and reforms in the NTA, which holds centralised admission tests to various undergraduate courses, according to a Rajya Sabha notice.
During the May 15 press conference, Pradhan announced that the re-test would be held on June 21 and said the exam would shift to online mode from next year.
