The Union Education Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan has admitted that NEET UG 2026 was 'compromised', and has claimed full responsibility for the alleged
paper leak. "I take responsibility of the mental anguish faced by 22 lakh students. The NEET was compromised,' he said at an event. Addressing the 6th edition of Jagran Bharat Education Conclave 2026, Pradhan assured students, parents and other stakeholders that the re-NEET exam that is scheduled to take place on June 21 will be error-free. "We are oath-bound to ensure June 21st exam is carried out without errors," he said. " He also warned parents to re-think their decision of enrolling their children at the private coaching centres for competitive examinations such as NEET UG, CUET, JEE and more. He advised parents to avoid the temptation of 'social evil'. "Society needs to rethink the coaching system. This has turned into a social evil. This temptation needs to re-looked at," he said. Additionally, amid growing criticism against the education ministry, Dharmendra Pradhan also appealed the community to ‘have faith in the system, PM and NEP’.
Pradhan's statement comes a day after a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports summoned the NTA Chairperson Pradeep Kumar Joshi, DG Abhishek Singh and Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi on May 21. The panel questioned the authorities on how the NEET paper leak took place and what steps are being taken to restore trust in national entrance examinations.
However, as per sources, there was a debate among members of the panel over the use of the word “leak,” as the term was mentioned in the official communication sent to members regarding the meeting.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) had cancelled the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, Undergraduate (NEET UG) on May 12, after days of speculation of an alleged leak. The exam was originally held on May 3, after which on May 12, NTA announced that the exam has been cancelled. Following this, Pradhan held a press briefing on May 15 where he announced that re-NEET will be held on June 21, 2026 (Sunday), for which students will not be charged anything, and the earlier registration fee will also be refunded.
