New Delhi | Amid a row over the conduct of NEET and CUET UG 2026, representatives of the United Doctors Front on Monday were not allowed to make a presentation before a parliamentary standing committee following objections from ruling party members, sources said.
Top officials from the National Testing Agency (NTA) told a parliamentary standing committee that the agency's complete focus for now was to hold the June 21 NEET-UG re-test properly in pen-paper format, sources stated on Monday.
Sources added that the committee chairman and other members questioned the NTA about the safeguards in place to prevent any paper leaks this time. The officials assured them that adequate measures have been implemented.
Committee members also raised concerns about the potential for hacking in computer-based tests, to which the NTA representatives responded that a special committee has been formed to examine this issue, with a report expected in three months.
The meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports was held to discuss the pros and cons of the pen-and-paper testing system compared to computer-based testing (CBT) used in national examinations.
Sources said the representatives of the United Doctors Forum, which has filed a petition before the Supreme Court alleging systemic failure and the examination process compromised in the wake of the NEET-UG paper leak row, were also called by the committee for making a presentation but were disallowed after strong objections from BJP members.
The UDF had also demanded dissolution of the National Testing Agency (NTA) in its current form and be replaced with a statutory body.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Parliamentary Committee and Congress member Digvijaya Singh stated that since Prime Minister Narendra Modi has taken personal responsibility for conducting the NEET exam on June 21, there should be no further paper leaks and the exam should proceed smoothly.
"It has come in the public domain that the prime minister is so miffed with the failures and incompetence of Dharmendra Pradhan that he has taken up all the responsibilities himself. Hence, it is his responsibility now, and we have faith that all things will be held right. If now too, there is something wrong, then we would have to seek the resignation of the prime minister himself.
"We are hoping that there would be no paper leak under him, but if a paper leak happens now, then we would have to demand the resignation of the prime minister, instead of Pradhan," Singh said.
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 is currently focused on conducting the re-test successfully in pen-and-paper format.
The NTA had 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.
On Monday, the committee also summoned Vineet Joshi, Secretary of Higher Education, and Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary of Health and Family Welfare, to discuss the pros and cons of the pen-and-paper testing system versus CBT.
According to the agenda of the meeting, 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.
The committee will reconvene on Tuesday to review the use of the on-screen marking system (OSM) in CBSE exams and address the issues faced by students due to 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.
Meanwhile, in a post on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said, "It is impossible for any reasonable mind to have any faith in the Pradhan Mantri and his ‘system.’"
