Neet's digital transition must be matched by equal access to technology

As the debate over the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Neet) continues, the government’s decision to shift the undergraduate medical entrance examination to a computer-based format from 2027, replacing the current pen-and-paper mode, marks a significant reform. 

The move seeks to strengthen security, enhance transparency, and restore public confidence in the wake of the paper leak. These are important because a competitive examination draws its legitimacy from being secure and credible, and has to be trusted by those whose future depends on it. 

Each year, millions of students compete for a limited number of medical seats through Neet, the most for any competitive exam, making its credibility critical to the country’s education system. This year, over 2.2 million candidates took the test. 

The transition from pen-and-paper to computer-based testing changes the nature of preparation itself. Familiarity with navigating digital interfaces, reviewing questions on screen, managing time electronically, and responding confidently under examination pressure can develop only through repeated exposure. These are not skills acquired suddenly. Rather, they are built gradually through opportunities to practice. Once the examination goes digital, access to computers becomes part of the preparation process. 

The success of this transition also depends on the readiness of the examination system. Although several major competitive examinations are already conducted in a computer-based format, Neet will be the largest to make this shift and may require multiple shifts over several days, posing the challenge of ensuring comparable difficulty levels in question paper sets across sessions and appropriate score normalisation later. While these administrative and logistical challenges are critical to preserving the integrity of the examination, the more fundamental question is whether every candidate has had an equal opportunity to prepare for a digital test. 

Evidence from the recent NCAER-Quantum Hub report based on the India Human Development Survey (IHDS-III, 2022-24) (Ganguly et al., 2026) shows a large gap in technology ownership across the urban-rural divide. Only 4.7 per cent of rural households own a desktop computer or laptop, compared with 14.9 per cent of urban households. The digital divide is equally stark across economic groups, with computer or laptop ownership at just 1.2 per cent among the poorest households and 23.1 per cent among the richest. For some students, computer-based mock tests at home will be part of their daily routine; for many others, however, computers will remain beyond reach. 

Owning a computer or laptop is only part of the problem. Digital preparedness remains equally uneven. IHDS-III shows that only 32.4 per cent of men and 19.1 per cent of women aged 18-30 knew how to use a computer. Even among younger generations expected to participate in an increasingly digital education system, familiarity with computers remains far from universal. The country's digital transition has been remarkable, but digital preparedness has not progressed uniformly across regions, gender, and socio-economic groups. 

Those with computers at home can enjoy an unfair advantage in the digital interface by building familiarity, speed, and confidence at no extra cost. Students who do not have a computer at home may still compensate by purchasing a device or enrolling in coaching institutes, or using private computer centres, if they can afford to do so. But for students from financially constrained families, it could impose an additional educational cost. They may have to travel farther and pay for access to computers or prepare with fewer opportunities to practise. They may therefore be disadvantaged, compared with their relatively affluent and urban counterparts. 

Competitive examinations are meant to identify the most capable candidates, not those with greater access to resources. A computer-based examination introduces a new prerequisite for demonstrating merit: Familiarity with a digital interface. Students, familiar with computers, are likely to navigate the examination interface with greater speed, ease, and confidence than equally capable students with limited exposure to the device. 

Every technological reform carries transition costs, and those costs are rarely distributed equally. Sustained investments in digital preparedness should therefore go hand in hand with the transition to computer-based testing. Expanding computer laboratories in government schools, providing free computer-based mock examinations, establishing district-level digital practice centres, and strengthening computer literacy well before students reach the examination halls could be some of the steps taken to provide a level playing field. These investments are essential to ensuring that the transition to computer-based testing remains fair, not only for Neet, but for all high-stakes examinations adopting the format. 

The move towards computer-based examinations is both inevitable and desirable. But the transition to digital examinations should be accompanied by equal opportunities to prepare. As Neet enters the digital era, it is important that every student, regardless of their geographical location or socio-economic background, has an equal opportunity to adapt to the new system. Computer-based testing can make the examination more secure and transparent. Ensuring equal opportunities to prepare will make it fair as well. India needs both. 

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The writer is an associate fellow at the NCAER-National Data Innovation Centre. The views are personal