NEW DELHI: Former UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar on Friday backed the Centre's decision to shift NEET to the computer-based mode in the coming years, saying the current pen-and-paper format involving lakhs of candidates leaves "weak points" in the supply chain, vulnerable to breaches.
Amid the mounting criticism of the National Testing Agency (NTA) and demands for its dissolution from various quarters, Kumar said the agency is needed, as national-level entrance examinations are likely to draw more students in the coming years.
The NTA has announced that the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination will be conducted on June 21.
Reacting to the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 -- conducted earlier on May 3 -- and the announcement of a retest on June 21, Kumar said students were naturally under stress and disappointment after the development.
"Whenever an entrance exam is cancelled, it is natural that our young students will undergo stress and feel disappointed. During these difficult times, all of us as educators and parents must stand by our students and support them," the chairman of IIM Calcutta's Board of Governors told PTI Videos.
He said the NTA announced the retest date quickly to "remove any kind of uncertainty in the minds of the students".
Kumar noted that since its inception in 2017, the NTA had conducted several large-scale examinations, including JEE and CUET, largely in the CBT mode.
"These tests are typically very secure unlike NEET, which is a one-day pen-and-paper examination involving close to 22 lakh students and 54,000 centers across the country and abroad. (It requires) printing of the questions, transporting, storage and distribution at the centres; there could be weak points in the entire supply chain," he said.
"Unscrupulous elements will try to breach these weak points and that is what has happened in the case of NEET," he added, while noting that the CBI probe was underway, and the culprits would face action as per law.
Welcoming the government's decision to gradually move NEET to CBT mode, Kumar said it would help prevent nationwide disruption in case of localised issues.
Welcoming the government's decision to gradually move NEET to CBT mode, Kumar said it would help prevent nationwide disruption in case of localised issues.
"One advantage of conducting examinations in CBT mode is that if there is a localised problem at a particular centre, the issue remains confined there, and you can conduct a retest only for that set of students instead of cancelling the nationwide test," he said.
On concerns over variations in difficulty levels across multiple sessions, Kumar said the normalisation process already used in CUET was "a highly scientific and statistical process" and could similarly be adopted for NEET.
He also welcomed measures announced for students, including refund of examination fees and extension of exam duration by 15 minutes. Kumar said the number of candidates appearing for national-level entrance examinations was likely to increase significantly in the coming years, making institutions like the NTA essential.
"We definitely need an organisation like NTA, which conducts examinations in a secure and professional mode so that the admission process in colleges is objectively done," he said.
"...It is natural to be critical in difficult times such as this, but keeping the future in our mind, we all have to work together to fight this social evil of some criminals trying to breach the examinations and then strengthen our own national entrance system," he added.
Referring to the reforms initiated after the 2024 NEET controversy, Kumar said many recommendations of the committee headed by former ISRO chief K Radhakrishnan had already been implemented.
"It is a continuous improvement process. Year after year, the system will continue to improve," the former Jawaharlal Nehru University VC said, while urging students appearing for the retest to "be positive, prepare well and do it well".
Earlier today, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said students' future remains the government's topmost priority, adding that there will be "zero tolerance" for any irregularities found in the conduct of the NEET-UG. Strict action is being taken, he added.
Pradhan said admit cards for the re-examination will be issued to all candidates by June 14.
The minister said the government plans to shift NEET to the CBT format from next year as part of examination reforms.
"CBT mode of exam is comparatively better than OMR. It is a bit protected. Cybercrime has become a big world in itself. There are challenges, however, we will have to trust the system of our country," Pradhan said.