New Delhi, May 19 (IANS) Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan conducted a high-level review meeting on Tuesday to take stock of the preparations for the conduct of NEET (UG) re-examinations.

The NEET re-examinations are slated for June 21 and will see more than 23 lakh candidates appearing again for the competitive test, as the May 3 examinations were cancelled after nationwide uproar over paper leaks.

The high-level meeting by the Education Minister comes in the backdrop of the cancellation of NEET examinations, followed by angry outbursts by several medical aspirants who called out the administration’s apathy as well as incompetence in conducting a seamless and leak-proof exam.

Minister Pradhan stressed the need for complete integrity and transparency in the conduct of the examination and instructed the officials to ensure that all gaps are identified in the previous examination process and subsequently addressed and eliminated in the re-exams.

“The Re-NEET examination must be conducted in a secure, seamless and foolproof manner under stringent security protocols,” the Education Minister emphasised at the high-level meet.

According to officials, directions have also been issued to hold coordination meetings with District Magistrates (DM) and Superintendents of Police (SP) across States to ensure robust monitoring and effective implementation of examination arrangements.

Underscoring that vigilance and security at examination centres must remain uncompromised, Dharmendra Pradhan also directed officials to ensure adequate arrangements for students, including transportation, drinking water and other essential facilities.

Several technical and administrative measures were also discussed at the meeting for making the examination process more transparent and reliable.

Notably, the NEET examinations were cancelled earlier this month, after investigators found ample evidence of several question papers similar to those of examinations, circulation in the public domain, including on WhatsApp and other digital mediums.

The Union Minister, in a press meet earlier, also signalled shifting the NEET examinations from paper-based to computer format to rule out chances of paper leak and other discrepancies.

–IANS

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