The undergraduate National Eligibility cum Entrance Test will be computer-based from next year, said Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday.

The announcement came against the backdrop of the cancellation of the test conducted on May 3, following allegations of a paper leak. The exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency for admission to undergraduate medical courses in India.

This year, more than 22 lakh candidates had appeared for the test.

Pradhan said on Friday that the decision to cancel the exam was taken in favour of meritorious students.

There was a “breach” in the command chain despite the National Testing Agency following recommendations submitted by the Radhakrishnan committee, said Pradhan.

“We accept it and take responsibility to improve it,” the minister added.

He was referring to the high-level committee, led by former Indian Space Research Organisation Chairperson K Radhakrishnan, that was formed after allegations of paper leaks and irregular grace marks emerged in the NEET-UG exam in 2024.

The committee had reportedly submitted 95 recommendations to reform the process.

Despite this, the test on May 3 had to be cancelled after the Rajasthan Special Operations Group began investigating allegations that a “guess paper” circulated before the examination contained questions closely matching the actual paper.

The “guess paper” contained around 410 questions, of which about 120 matched the questions asked in the chemistry section, according to the Rajasthan Police. The Central Bureau of Investigation filed a first information report in the matter based on a complaint by the Union Ministry of Education.

Earlier on Friday, the National Testing Agency said that the re-exam for the 2026 NEET-UG would be held on June 21.

Later in the day, Pradhan told reporters that the suspected leak had come to light after objections were received through the National Testing Agency grievance system about alleged overlaps with “guess papers”, following which an inquiry was initiated.

Speaking about the investigation into the leak, the minister said: “Whether someone is within the NTA [National Testing Agency] or outside it, no one will be spared.”

On using a computer-based test next year, Pradhan said that this mode is comparatively better than the Optical Mark Recognition.

“It is a bit protected,” he said. “Cybercrime has become a big world in itself. There are challenges, however, we will have to trust the system of our country.”

Following the cancellation of the exam on Tuesday, the CBI arrested at least seven persons and conducted searches at several locations across the country in connection with alleged irregularities and the paper leak. Of these, two were arrested on Thursday.

In its FIR, the central agency has invoked charges under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita pertaining to criminal conspiracy, cheating and criminal breach of trust, the Prevention of Corruption Act and the 2024 Public Examinations Prevention of Unfair Means Act.

Written by Leah Thomas. Edited by Sneha.