The national eligibility-cum-entrance test for undergraduate medical studies, NEET-UG, may be replaced by online exam format similar to JEE-Mains for engineering courses, according to the Center’s plans. The Supreme Court is apparently investigating recent reports of irregularities in the test, which are the reason for this adjustment.
The idea of converting NEET-UG to an online format has been discussed within the relevant committee, according to an anonymous central government official, but no formal direction has yet been issued. Online testing is becoming more popular due to the recent controversy surrounding NEET-UG and other competitive exams.
A second official highlighted the logistical challenges of this potential change, noting that around 2.3 million students took the test in 2024. Equipping the approximately 4,000 test centers across the country with computers and the necessary infrastructure would be a significant task. However, the official acknowledged the benefits of conducting the exams online, similar to JEE-Mains.
Currently, NEET-UG is administered offline using pen and paper, where students answer multiple-choice questions on an OMR sheet. If converted to a Computer Based Test, candidates would use a computer to take the test and mark their answers digitally.
In 2024, 1.4 million students appeared for JEE-Mains, which was conducted across 570 centers.
Exams will soon be computer-based, according to Dr. MC Misra, a former director of AIIMS in Delhi. In order to close current gaps, he thinks that getting online is crucial. “Taking this test online is the only way forward to plug the loopholes; there is no point in continuing with the offline mode when the whole world is moving towards computer-based exams,” he added. Notwithstanding, he conceded the intricacy of executing an exam of this magnitude virtually and proposed that, in order to facilitate the shift smoothly, it might be imperative to administer the test in stages and furnish localised questionnaires.
