New Delhi, May 23:
Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said the government had to take “tough decisions” after irregularities were detected in the conduct of the NEET-UG, asserting that authorities did not want even a single deserving student to lose their rightful seat because of the “examination mafia”.
He also asserted that the government is committed to ensuring that the re-test scheduled to be held on June 21 remains “100 per cent error-free”.
Addressing the Jagran Bharat Education Conclave 2026, Pradhan said around 22 lakh students have suffered “mental anguish” due to the controversy surrounding the medical-entrance exam and the government is committed to fixing the system.
“Twenty-two lakh children have gone through immense mental anguish. Understanding that anguish and taking responsibility, I am saying this today, we had to take some tough decisions,” he said.
The National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (Undergraduate) for admissions in medical courses held on May 3 was cancelled by the National Testing Agency (NTA) recently amid allegations of paper leak. The matter is being probed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and a re-test is scheduled to be held on June 21.

