Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Thursday chaired a high-level review meeting with senior officials from the Ministry of Education, state governments, the National Testing Agency (NTA) and higher education institutions to assess preparedness for the NEET-UG re-examination scheduled for June 21.

The original NEET-UG examination, held on May 3, was cancelled on May 12 following allegations of a paper leak. The matter is currently under investigation by the CBI. The exam is now rescheduled for June 21.

During the meeting, Pradhan stressed the need to maintain the highest standards of integrity, transparency and efficiency, directing all authorities to ensure the smooth and fair conduct of the re-examination. He said ministry-designated officers would be deployed across states to coordinate arrangements and report to the NTA command centre.

The minister also urged state nodal officers to provide candidates with all necessary facilities to ensure a stress-free examination experience.

Senior officials, including School Education Secretary Sanjay Kumar, Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi and NTA Director General Abhishek Singh, attended the meeting. Discussions focused on examination preparedness, security measures, logistics, grievance redressal and coordination mechanisms.

Meanwhile, the NTA reassured candidates that the June 21 re-examination would be conducted as scheduled and advised them not to be influenced by rumours of postponement or social media speculation.

The agency said extensive arrangements and multi-layered security measures have been put in place in coordination with ministries, state governments and security agencies to ensure a safe and fair examination. It also warned that any malpractice would be dealt with strictly.

The NTA said the decision to cancel the May 3 examination was taken in the interests of candidates and that lessons from the incident had been used to strengthen the examination process.

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