NEW DELHI: NEET-UG 2025 has recorded its lowest attendance since 2021, with National Testing Agency attributing this to stringent checks implemented from the registration phase to the conduct of exam to eliminate "bogus" candidates. The number of candidates who registered for the 2025 entrance exam for medical and allied UG courses also declined from the previous year.
On Sunday, around 20.8 lakh candidates appeared for the test out of the 22.7 lakh who registered, recording an attendance of 91.4%, according to the agency, which said this could increase slightly as data from remote locations are yet to arrive.
In 2024, 97.9% of the 24 lakh candidates who had registered for the exam appeared for it (the highest attendance ever for NEET-UG). The attendance was 97.6% in 2023, when for the first-time registration crossed the 20-lakh mark; in 2022, 94.2% of the 18.7 lakh registered candidates took the test; and in 2021, 95.6% of the 16.1 lakh registered candidates appeared for the exam.
The test was held amid unprecedented security arrangements on Sunday, a day after drills were conducted at all centres to test operational readiness - including mobile signal jammers, availability of adequate frisking personnel and biometric authentication - as well as systems for multi-level monitoring and police escorts for transporting question papers from banks to the centres. State-wise, UP had the highest number of candidates (over 3.3 lakh), followed by Maharashtra (over 2.4 lakh) and Rajasthan (over 2 lakh). Over 51,000 candidates appeared from J&K, and among the northeastern states, Assam had more than 45,000 candidates and Manipur 10,198 candidates.
This time, NTA set up 5,453 exam centres - more than last year - and priority was given to universities, colleges and govt or govt-aided schools. Senior officials from the local administrations also visited these centres.
"In a significant step towards reinforcing examination integrity, NTA adopted a 'whole-of-govt' integrated monitoring approach. This enabled real-time coordination among officials from nodal Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and district administrations," said a senior govt official.
The official added that a centralised control room was established under the education ministry, with representatives from the health and family welfare, defence, electronics and information technology, and home ministries. The control room monitored all exam-related activities at the ground level.
District administrations also conducted periodic reviews of security arrangements, including secure transportation of question papers, logistics management, and deployment of police personnel at the centres, the official said.
Based on reports received through a special online portal, NTA has also taken action against multiple Telegram and Instagram channels spreading false information and misleading students.
According to a senior NTA official, over 2,300 suspicious claims have been received so far, most linked to Telegram channels promoting false paper leak narratives. These cases have been escalated to the home ministry's Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) .
On Sunday, around 20.8 lakh candidates appeared for the test out of the 22.7 lakh who registered, recording an attendance of 91.4%, according to the agency, which said this could increase slightly as data from remote locations are yet to arrive.
In 2024, 97.9% of the 24 lakh candidates who had registered for the exam appeared for it (the highest attendance ever for NEET-UG). The attendance was 97.6% in 2023, when for the first-time registration crossed the 20-lakh mark; in 2022, 94.2% of the 18.7 lakh registered candidates took the test; and in 2021, 95.6% of the 16.1 lakh registered candidates appeared for the exam.
The test was held amid unprecedented security arrangements on Sunday, a day after drills were conducted at all centres to test operational readiness - including mobile signal jammers, availability of adequate frisking personnel and biometric authentication - as well as systems for multi-level monitoring and police escorts for transporting question papers from banks to the centres. State-wise, UP had the highest number of candidates (over 3.3 lakh), followed by Maharashtra (over 2.4 lakh) and Rajasthan (over 2 lakh). Over 51,000 candidates appeared from J&K, and among the northeastern states, Assam had more than 45,000 candidates and Manipur 10,198 candidates.
This time, NTA set up 5,453 exam centres - more than last year - and priority was given to universities, colleges and govt or govt-aided schools. Senior officials from the local administrations also visited these centres.
"In a significant step towards reinforcing examination integrity, NTA adopted a 'whole-of-govt' integrated monitoring approach. This enabled real-time coordination among officials from nodal Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and district administrations," said a senior govt official.
The official added that a centralised control room was established under the education ministry, with representatives from the health and family welfare, defence, electronics and information technology, and home ministries. The control room monitored all exam-related activities at the ground level.
District administrations also conducted periodic reviews of security arrangements, including secure transportation of question papers, logistics management, and deployment of police personnel at the centres, the official said.
Based on reports received through a special online portal, NTA has also taken action against multiple Telegram and Instagram channels spreading false information and misleading students.
According to a senior NTA official, over 2,300 suspicious claims have been received so far, most linked to Telegram channels promoting false paper leak narratives. These cases have been escalated to the home ministry's Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) .
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