The Union government has informed the Supreme Court that it is deliberating on whether to hold the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) in a single stage or in a two-stage format similar to the Joint Entrance Examination for engineering courses, The Indian Express reported.
The government filed its affidavit on Monday in response to the petition seeking directions to prevent question paper leaks in NEET-UG exams for admission to medical courses.
The government also reiterated that the authorities are deliberating a shift from the existing pen-and-paper format to a computer-based examination, the newspaper reported.
On May 15, Dharmendra Pradhan, the education minister at the time, had announced that the NEET-UG exam will be computer-based from next year.
The government said that a final decision would be taken after the “high-powered task force” formed under the chairmanship of Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani submits its recommendations.
The task force was constituted on July 26, a day after Pradhan’s resignation in the wake of youth protests across the country against alleged mismanagement in conducting competitive exams.
The Centre told the court that the National Testing Agency has shifted seven of its eight major entrance examinations to a computer-based, multi-session and multi-day format, The Indian Express quoted its affidavit as saying.
It noted that the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) is the only major examination still being conducted in the traditional pen-and-paper mode.
However, the Centre said that any changes to the structure of the exam would be made only after consultations with, and approval from, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the National Medical Commission, the newspaper reported.
The NEET-UG exam is conducted on behalf of the health ministry and is regulated by the National Medical Commission.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on Thursday.
Edited by Neerad Pandharipande.
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