NEET UG Result 2026: Attendance in NEET decreased from 96.72% to 87.7%, all in Kerala-Tamil Nadu and Karnataka

NEET UG Result 2026: Along with the results of NEET UG 2026 re-exam, NTA has also released such data related to the examination, which has sparked a new discussion regarding the medical entrance examination. This time there was a big decline in the number of candidates appearing in the examination. About 2.8 lakh fewer students appeared in the re-exam as compared to the original examination held in May. With this, the attendance of the examination decreased from 96.72 percent to 87.7 percent, which is considered to be the lowest after 2020 and the lowest attendance till now apart from the Covid years. Around 20 lakh candidates appeared in the re-exam, whereas more than 22 lakh students had participated in the first phase examination. However, despite low attendance, 11.1 lakh candidates have qualified the exam.

About 2.8 lakh candidates did not turn up to take the exam.

According to NTA data, more than 22.79 lakh candidates had registered for NEET UG 2026, but only 19.99 lakh students appeared in the re-exam. That means 2,79,848 candidates did not appear for the examination. This is the largest absentee figure till date. Earlier in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, about 2.30 lakh candidates were absent from the examination.

Attendance was the lowest after 2020

The attendance in the original exam was recorded at around 96.72 percent, while in the re-exam it came down to 87.72 percent. Whereas in the year 2020, during Covid, the attendance was 85.57 percent. After this, in 2021 and 2022 also the attendance remained above 94-95 percent, while in 2023-2024 and 2025 it was recorded between 96 to 97 percent. In such a situation, this figure of 2026 is considered to be the biggest decline after the epidemic.

Students of South India missed the maximum number of exams.

The highest number of absentees in the re-exam was recorded from the states of South India. Almost one fourth candidates who registered in Kerala did not turn up for the examination. Here 25.6 percent candidates were absent. 23.8 percent candidates in Tamil Nadu and 19.4 percent candidates in Karnataka left the exam. In Maharashtra also, about 9.8 percent candidates did not appear in the examination. On the contrary, the percentage of absenteeism in the states of North India was very low. Only 7.9 percent candidates in Rajasthan and 7.6 percent candidates in Uttar Pradesh remained absent from the examination.

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Rajasthan increased participation

While the number of students appearing for the exam decreased in many states, the situation remained different in Rajasthan. Here the registration was less as compared to last year, an increase of about 15 percent was recorded. The number of candidates appearing in the examination also increased and more than 1.33 lakh students qualified the examination. On the basis of candidates appearing in the examination, the success rate of Rajasthan was around 69.3 percent which was considered the highest.

Read this also-NEET UG Result 2026: 1.15 lakh less successful candidates in NEET than last year, only 11.21 lakh qualified the exam.

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