2 min readNew DelhiMay 15, 2026 12:04 PM IST
In his first public remarks after the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 over an alleged paper leak, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said Friday the government “will not allow a moneybag to take anybody’s seat away.”
Pradhan also said the nationwide entrance examination will be conducted in computer-based mode from next year. The National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts the exam for medical aspirants, announced that the NEET-UG retest will be held on June 21.
“We admit that there was a breach somewhere in the chain of command despite implementing the Radhakrishnan committee’s recommendations… and take responsibility to fix this,” Pradhan said.
“We will not allow a moneybag to take anybody’s seat away. We are sad, and worried about this unfortunate incident. But we had to take this difficult step… our responsibility is to ensure there are zero errors,” he added.
The NEET-UG 2026 paper leak forced the NTA to scrap the exam that more than 22 lakh students sat for on May 3, 2026.
The cancellation of the exam triggered nationwide protests and political outrage.
