Govt mulls JEE-NEET merger: Here’s why the move may not work
Discussions on a combined NEET-JEE exam have resurfaced after the 2026 leak controversy and re-exam announcement
Amid the controversy surrounding the leaked 2026 NEET-UG paper and the subsequent re-examination scheduled for June 21, discussions about a common national entrance examination for engineering and medical courses have resurfaced.
According to a report by The Economic Times, the Centre is considering a proposal to eventually replace both the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) and National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) with a single national-level entrance test featuring specialised subject sections for different streams.
New proposal
Under the proposed framework, students would write one common exam, with Mathematics sections for engineering aspirants and Biology sections for medical candidates.
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The proposal is still at a preliminary discussion stage and comes amid mounting criticism over examination security and demands from several sections for restructuring or dissolving the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts NEET and several other national entrance examinations.
Sources familiar with the matter said senior officials briefed a parliamentary standing committee on Thursday (May 21) regarding possible reforms. During the meeting, NTA Director General Abhishek Singh and Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi discussed examination reforms and recommendations made by the Dr K Radhakrishnan Committee.
Officials are also reportedly reviewing age limits and attempt restrictions for NEET candidates, while exploring multi-session examinations to reduce student stress and improve flexibility.
The idea of a unified entrance exam, however, is not new. Similar discussions had emerged in 2022 around a possible “One Nation, One Entrance Exam” model involving JEE, NEET and Common University Entrance Test (CUET). However, no formal roadmap was announced.
Why the merger may be difficult
Despite repeated discussions, merging the two entrance examinations remains an enormous logistical and academic challenge.
One of the biggest hurdles lies in the difference in exam structures. JEE is conducted as a multi-session computer-based test, while NEET has traditionally remained a single-day offline pen-and-paper examination to accommodate students from regions with limited digital infrastructure.
Also read: NEET-UG 2026: How NTA, the agency built to fix exams, kept breaking them
Following the NEET paper leak controversy, the NTA is now considering shifting NEET to a computer-based format, but experts say scaling such an exam nationwide remains complex.
The sheer volume of candidates also poses a serious challenge. JEE attracts roughly 9 to 11 lakh students annually, NEET over 20 lakh, and CUET nearly 15 lakh. A combined system could potentially involve close to 40 lakh applicants.
Technical glitches during the initial editions of CUET had already raised concerns about whether the existing digital infrastructure can reliably handle such a large scale.
There are also academic concerns. Engineering entrance exams, such as JEE Advanced, heavily emphasise advanced mathematics, analytical reasoning and layered filtering systems. Medical admissions, on the other hand, prioritise biology expertise, speed and precision.
Experts believe creating a single scoring framework that fairly evaluates such fundamentally different academic streams remains one of the biggest unresolved challenges.