New Delhi: Medical entrance exam NEET-UG, which is set to be conducted as a computer-based test from next year, will be spread over at least six days across more than 1,000 centres, sources said.

National Eligibility Entrance Test (NEET)-UG is the largest undergraduate entrance exam in the country with nearly 25 lakh candidates appearing for the crucial test.

Following a controversy over paper leak and irregularities in the exam, the Centre announced that the exam will be conducted as a computer-based test (CBT) rather than a pen and paper based one. Detailed deliberations have been going on for several years between education and health ministries on whether to conduct the NEET-UG in pen and paper or online mode.

"Just like JEE which is conducted for admission to engineering colleges, the exam will be spread over at least six days. The exam centres will be selected after scrutiny about their credibility and infrastructure availability," a source said, adding a detailed plan is still being firmed up.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts NEET every year for admission into medical colleges. A total of 1,08,000 seats are available for MBSS course.

Of the seats available for the MBBS course, approximately 56,000 are in government hospitals and about 52,000 in private colleges. Admissions to undergraduate courses in Dentistry, Ayurveda, Unani, and Siddha also utilise the results of the NEET for admission.

The idea of switching to CBT mode for NEET is not new and has been deliberated several times before. However, the push for the exam reforms came following the paper leak controversy.

In June 2024, the Ministry of Education had constituted a high level committee under the chairmanship of K Radhakrishnan, a former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation, to make recommendations for reforms.

This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.