NEET UG 2027: Major change following paper leak; exam to now be held over six days..

NEET UG 2027: Starting in 2027, the medical entrance exam NEET-UG will be conducted in a computer-based test (CBT) mode. According to sources, the country's largest undergraduate entrance exam will now be held over a period of at least six days instead of a single day. More than 1,000 examination centers will be set up across the country for this purpose. NEET-UG is the nation's largest undergraduate entrance exam, with approximately 2.5 million (25 lakh) candidates appearing for it annually. Following controversies regarding paper leaks and irregularities, the central government decided to shift the exam from the pen-and-paper format to a computer-based one. Sources indicate that the exam will be conducted over multiple days, similar to the JEE engineering entrance exam.

Selected examination centers will undergo prior verification regarding their credibility and infrastructure facilities. However, the comprehensive framework for the exam is currently being finalized. The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts NEET-UG every year. It facilitates admissions to MBBS courses in medical colleges across the country. There are approximately 1.08 lakh MBBS seats available in total; of these, around 56,000 are in government medical colleges, and about 52,000 are in private medical colleges. NEET-UG scores are also used for admission to undergraduate courses in BDS, as well as in Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha medicine.

Work on the final plan is underway.
The proposal to conduct NEET online is not new. Discussions between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health regarding whether the exam should be pen-and-paper based or computer-based had been ongoing for several years. However, the process of reforming the examination system accelerated following the paper leak controversy in 2024. In June 2024, the Ministry of Education constituted a high-level committee, chaired by former ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, to suggest examination reforms. Preparations to implement the computer-based NEET-UG exam are now proceeding in this direction.

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