NEET-UG 2026 cancelled: parliamentary panel pushes for computer-based testing, NTA accountability
The cancellation of NEET-UG 2026, despite a series of measures meant to prevent irregularities, underlines the need for deeper procedural and institutional reform, a parliamentary panel has said. The panel has recommended that the medical entrance examination be shifted to computer-based testing (CBT), according to a PTI report.
The panel has also suggested setting up a framework to make the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the examination, accountable to Parliament.
These recommendations come amid the Union government's efforts to overhaul the country's examination system following the NEET paper leak controversy reported earlier this year, which raised widespread concern about the integrity of high-stakes entrance tests.
On September 30, officials said the Ministry of Education was preparing a national strategy to build examination-grade CBT infrastructure. Such capacity could allow NEET to move from a pen-and-paper format to an online one. Officials indicated, however, that a final decision would be taken only after a high-level task force, led by Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, submits its report. The task force was constituted to recommend reforms to strengthen public examinations and prevent paper leaks.
Officials have said the proposed transition would require adequate infrastructure, standardised examination centres and safeguards to ensure equitable access, particularly for candidates in rural and low-connectivity areas.
What is NEET-UG? The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) is the single gateway for admission to undergraduate medical and dental courses in India. It is conducted by the NTA and taken by lakhs of candidates every year. For most aspirants, the score determines not just a college seat but the direction of their career. That is why any disruption — a leak, a delay or a cancellation — has consequences that stretch far beyond the examination hall.
What does a shift to CBT involve? In a computer-based test, candidates answer questions at designated centres on a computer rather than on a printed sheet. Such examinations can use randomised question sets, which makes copying harder and reduces the physical movement of question papers that can be intercepted. Results can also be processed faster. Several other entrance examinations in India, including some for engineering and management admissions, are already conducted online.
The concerns. CBT is not automatically fairer for everyone. Candidates in rural areas, or in districts with unreliable connectivity and few testing centres, may find it harder to reach an examination centre or to practise on a computer beforehand. Unless the number of centres is expanded and mock tests are made widely available, a digital format could shift the disadvantage from one group of students to another rather than removing it. Success would depend on standardised centres, verifiable identity checks and transparent grievance redressal.
The accountability question. The panel's suggestion that the NTA be answerable to Parliament touches on a recurring criticism — that an agency handling examinations taken by millions operates with limited public oversight. How such accountability would work in practice, and whether it would involve regular reporting to a parliamentary committee, is not yet clear.
What happens next. The panel's recommendations are advisory, not binding, and no timeline has been announced. The immediate decision rests with the government, which is awaiting the Nilekani task force report. Until then, uncertainty remains for students preparing for the next cycle of the examination.
