Over the past year, detailed deliberations have taken place between the Education Ministry and the Health Ministry on whether national-level entrance exams like NEET should continue in the traditional pen-and-paper format or move to an online, computer-based test (CBT) mode. Despite several rounds of discussion, a final decision is still pending, and the plan has not yet taken off.
At present, the Education Ministry is carefully analysing the availability of digital infrastructure across the country. Officials are looking at data on how computer-based exams have worked in the past to judge whether students from rural or remote areas might face challenges if NEET shifts to a CBT mode. The fear is that a sudden change could disadvantage thousands of students from smaller towns and villages who may not have the same level of exposure to computers as their urban peers.
This entire debate gained momentum in the wake of last year’s controversy around the NEET UG paper leak. To prevent such incidents and make exams more secure, the Ministry had set up a committee under the leadership of former ISRO Chairman K Radhakrishnan. The committee submitted its report last year, strongly recommending that exams like NEET should move online wherever possible. According to the committee, computer-based exams with multiple shifts have become the preferred model globally and are a more secure way forward.
However, officials in the Education Ministry have acknowledged that such a change cannot be rushed. A senior official explained that ensuring the availability of testing centres is one of the biggest hurdles. “We will also have to make sure that students from rural or remote regions do not face barriers. If NEET is moved completely to computer-based mode, fairness and accessibility have to be guaranteed,” the official said.
To assess these points, the Ministry is closely studying data from other exams. For example, the JEE Main is already conducted in computer-based mode. In its latest session, 12.58 lakh candidates appeared in the first round and 9.92 lakh in the second. Similarly, CUET UG was held online, with 10.72 lakh candidates sitting for the test. However, CUET did witness technical glitches at some centres, raising concerns about whether NEET, with its much larger pool of candidates, could face similar issues. In contrast, NEET-UG this year drew a massive 22.09 lakh aspirants, all of whom wrote the exam on pen and paper without needing to depend on technology.
The final call on whether NEET-UG will move to CBT mode will ultimately rest with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Yet, the Education Ministry’s analysis and recommendations will play a key role in shaping the decision. The K Radhakrishnan committee has even suggested working with Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas to upgrade digital infrastructure, allowing them to act as computer-based exam centres in the future.
Meanwhile, the Ministry is also addressing another pressing concern—the growing dependency of students on coaching centres. In June, a separate committee was formed to study the fairness of competitive entrance exams like NEET. Many parents and students feel that exams such as NEET are impossible to clear without coaching. To investigate this, the committee is analysing question papers to see if there is a mismatch between the Class 12 syllabus and the level of difficulty in entrance exams. “If the data shows that NEET or other exams are designed in a way that pushes students towards coaching, then we must work on correcting that,” an official said.
The debate around NEET—whether it should be online or offline, and whether it is truly fair to all—continues to be one of the biggest issues facing policymakers today. For now, lakhs of students, especially those from smaller towns, are waiting anxiously to see if their future will unfold on a computer screen or on the familiar pages of a pen-and-paper exam.
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