New Delhi, May 22 (IANS) Acknowledging the mental torture suffered by 22 lakh students due to the NEET-UG 2026 exam cancellation, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan vowed on Friday that the retest on June 21 will be free from irregularities, urging parents and students to trust Prime Minister Narendra Modi for fulfilling their aspirations.

Reiterating the Union government’s commitment to ensure 100 per cent error-free NEET-UG 2026 exam, Union Minister Pradhan also hinted towards suicides by competitive exam aspirants, calling upon parents to introspect on excessive “coaching culture” and avoid mounting pressure on their wards that drives them to lose balance.

Speaking at an event, the Union Minister said, “I understand the pain suffered by 22 lakh students and say this with full responsibility that we had to take the tough decision of cancelling the exam for ensuring fair play with all deserving medical aspirants.”

“We are facing stigma and public ire for the tough decision of cancelling NEET-UG exam but we did not want the wrongdoers in the education sector or the ‘examination mafia’ to deny any meritorious candidate his due,” Pradhan said, sharing the video of his speech on his social media account.

He added that he accepted the exam cancellation challenge as it is his duty to set the system right but not turn a blind eye to the root cause of the irregularity.

“In a democracy, it is our duty to take the responsibility,” the Union Minister said, adding that the Education Ministry is committed to ensuring an error-free NEET-UG 2026 exam on June 21.

He also dismissed the criticism of on-screen marking scheme introduction by the Central Board of Secondary Examination (CBSE) for error-free, scientific and uniform assessment in Board exams.

He said the time has come to admit lack of uniformity in assessment and award of marks to resourceful parents’ wards studying in an urban school and marks given to a meritorious student from a distant, rural school.

“An honest criticism should be accepted if it is intended to improve the system. We get to learn and improve the system. Attempts to create a new system face shortcomings and only collective consultation and criticism can show the way forward.”

Union Minister Pradhan said the couple of incidents mentioned by him in his speech underscore that the Central government is not going to turn a blind eye towards a grave problem or try to sweep it under the carpet.

“The government is duty-bound to fulfill the realistic aspirations and expectations of society,” he added, calling for a collective fight against social evils — like use of unfair means in exams — which will continue to exist despite stringent laws to restrict them.

“I want you to keep faith in the system, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi and in the National Education Policy, 2020, which is like a philosophical document of the country,” Union Minister Pradhan said.

He also urged parents to introspect on the excessive “coaching culture” and collectively resort to course correction.

“Handholding or arranging tuition for one’s wards is welcome but it is not good to turn a student into a commodity and mount unbearable pressure on him that he loses his matrix or balance.”

“As the Prime Minister has rightly said, ‘competence is more important than a certificate’,” the Union Minister said.

–IANS

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