After NEET paper leak scandal, govt may cap attempts and impose age limit on aspirants: Report
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Members of the Social Students Association of India (SSAI) protest against the National Testing Agency (NTA) over an question paper leak in the NEET-UG, in Patna on Wednesday. Photograph: (ANI)
India may soon introduce major restrictions for NEET-UG aspirants, including limits on the number of attempts and possibly an upper age cap, following the massive controversy surrounding the NEET 2026 paper leak case. Scroll down.
Amidst growing concerns over alleged irregularities in the NEET examination process, triggered by the recent paper leak, the Government of India (GOI) on Thursday (May 21) told a parliamentary panel that it would recommend a cap on the number of attempts for NEET-UG aspirants. GOI might also introduce an upper age limit, reports Hindustan Times, citing sources. This comes as Director General (DG) of the National Testing Agency (NTA), Abhishek Singh, appeared before a Parliamentary committee to provide a detailed briefing on the NEET-UG paper leak and the steps being taken to reform the examination process.
At the committee hearing, NTA also insisted that it was not a case of “paper leak”. Notably, earlier this month (on May 15), Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, during a high-stakes press conference, admitted that a leak had happened. "Questions have gone out under the guise of guess papers," he said.
Three long-term reforms expected
As per reports, the NTA Director General told the parliamentary standing committee headed by Congress MP Digvijaya Singh that the agency would implement three "long-term measures" in consultation with the Union Health Ministry following the recommendations of an expert committee chaired by former Indian Space Research Organisation chairman K Radhakrishnan. These are: transition from pen-and-paper examinations to computer-based testing as announced earlier; the introduction of multi-session and multi-stage testing; and capping of the number of attempts, implementing age limits.
Currently, the NTA administers NEET-UG in a single shift, using a pen-and-paper format. Candidates must be at least 17 years old to appear for the exam; there is no upper age limit and no restriction on the number of attempts.
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NTA, as per the HT report, a
Why was NEET-UG 2026 cancelled?
NEET UG 2026 was cancelled on May 12 following allegations of a coordinated paper leak. The exam, conducted on May 3 across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, saw participation from over 22 lakh candidates. A reexamination is scheduled for June 21. To prevent such irregularities, the exam will be conducted in computer-based test (CBT) mode from next year.
