- Tamil Nadu government urged Centre to scrap NEET and use Class 12 marks for medical admissions
- The NEET-UG 2026 exam cancelled due to paper leak, and a re-exam was held on June 21
- The NEET was first introduced in 2013
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay-led Tamil Nadu government on Wednesday urged the Centre to scrap the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, or NEET - a nationwide entrance examination for admission in medical programs in India - and said the admissions should be based on Class 12 marks.
The request came amid a widespread uproar over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. The exam, which was held on May 3 and taken up by over 20 lakh students, was cancelled on May 12 amid allegations of a paper leak. A re-exam was held on June 21.
Presenting the TVK government's first budget in the assembly, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister N Marie Wilson said the NEET paper leaks were "creating issues". He requested the Centre to revert to the old method of admissions based on Class 12 marks.
The party had earlier demanded that states be given full powers over matters relating to medical education.
When Medical Entrance Exams Became 'NEET'
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test was introduced by the Medical Council of India (MCI) in 2013 to replace the All India Pre-Medical Test (AIPMT) for admissions to medical and dental programmes.
However, the Supreme Court had in the same year put a stay on NEET in response to petitions received against the exam.
In 2016, NEET made a comeback, and a year later, it was completely replaced with the AIPMT.
Initially conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), it was later held by the National Testing Agency (NTA), a government agency formed specifically for the purpose of conducting entrance and recruitment examinations.
In 2024 as well, the NEET-UG had come under controversy after paper leak allegations surfaced from different states. Many students and parents questioned the results after some candidates scored unusually high marks. Reports later claimed that parts of the question paper had been leaked before the exam and arrests were made in Bihar and Gujarat, leading to protests and demands for a re-exam. The matter even reached the Supreme Court, which had refused to cancel the test but passed various directions aimed at tackling paper leaks and also a criterion for cancelling public exams.
Centre On NEET Reforms
The Centre has told the Supreme Court that it has undertaken a comprehensive overhaul of the conduct of the NEET to eliminate paper leaks and systemic failures.
In a compliance affidavit filed before a bench headed by Justice PS Narasimha, the Ministry of Education said the reforms are aimed at creating a robust and institutionalised system that preserves institutional memory, strengthens examination security and prevents future incidents of paper leaks or other malpractices.
The affidavit was filed in response to the top court's May 29 direction asking the Union government to explain how future NEET examinations would be conducted and how regulatory authorities would build and retain institutional memory to improve examination processes over successive years.
The Centre said Parliament has further strengthened the legal framework against examination fraud through the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, building on the 2024 law that criminalised question paper leaks, impersonation, tampering with computer systems and other examination-related offences.
According to the affidavit, the amendments reflect the government's resolve to impose even stricter penalties against those compromising the integrity of public examinations.
The government also informed the court that it has constituted a High-Powered Task Force (HPTF) on Examination Reforms to recommend structural improvements in the conduct of public examinations and to modernise examination systems.
The government said the reforms are intended to create a stronger institutional framework capable of learning from previous examination cycles through systematic use of experience, data and information, thereby reducing vulnerabilities and improving oversight.
It said the HPTF set up on July 27 is headed by Infosys co-founder and Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani.
The task force is mandated to submit recommendations within three months on end-to-end reforms, focusing on leveraging AI and blockchain to secure examination conduction, it said.
