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NEET Paper Leak Row: NTA initially defended the integrity of the exam process but later cancelled the test, saying suspicious inputs had been shared with investigation agencies.
The National Testing Agency cancelled the NEET (UG) 2026 exam conducted on May 3 amid allegations of paper leak, with the government asking the CBI to carry out a comprehensive inquiry into the ‘irregularities’, on Tuesday, May 12, 2026. Pic/PTI
“There are gaps in the system, and we are working to plug them,” said National Testing Agency (NTA) Director General Abhishek Singh, amid mounting criticism over the alleged NEET paper leak that has sparked nationwide outrage, protests, and rise in student suicide cases in the country.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Singh acknowledged shortcomings in the examination system and said the agency was taking responsibility and not shying away from accountability. He assured students that the rescheduled National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), now slated for June 21, would be conducted with tighter security and greater transparency.
The controversy erupted after the government cancelled the May 3 NEET exam following allegations of a paper leak. Nearly 22 lakh students had appeared for the test.
Soon after the exam ended, about 120 questions were found to have been circulated via Telegram channels in Rajasthan and allegedly matched guess papers. Sikar, already under scrutiny in 2024 for unusually high success rates, again became a focal point, with reports claiming that question papers were sold for as much as Rs 5 lakh.
The NTA initially defended the integrity of the examination process but later cancelled the test, saying suspicious inputs had been shared with federal investigation agencies.
According to information shared by the Ministry of Education in parliament in 2024, the agency operates with just 22 employees on deputation, 38 contractual workers and 138 outsourced staff.
Keshav Agarwal, vice president of the Coaching Federation of India, said the NTA has been overwhelmed by the scale of examinations it is expected to conduct. “You cannot simply conduct examinations for millions of students every year when the testing body itself has restricted manpower and infrastructure,” Agarwal told the news agency.
He said vulnerabilities exist at every stage of the process — from paper setting and printing to transportation and storage at examination centres, where papers often arrive days before the test.
The latest controversy has also revived memories of the NEET-UG 2024 row, when more than 80 students reportedly secured perfect scores of 720 out of 720, raising suspicions among educators and aspirants. Police investigations later led to arrests in Bihar and Jharkhand, though the examination itself was not cancelled.
NEET Paper Leak Fuels Anger and Demands for Exam Reforms
For many students and families, however, the fallout from this year’s controversy has been devastating.
For many students and families, the fallout from the NEET controversy has been devastating. In Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district, Rajesh Kumar mourned the loss of his 21-year-old son Pradeep, who died by suicide after the examination was cancelled. Pradeep, who had spent years preparing to become a doctor, had scored more than 650 marks this year as per the answer key — enough to potentially secure a government medical seat. To fund his son’s education, Rajesh, a labourer, had sold ancestral land and exhausted nearly all his savings on coaching fees and studies, the news agency reported.
The controversy has also shaken the confidence of aspirants across the country. Harsh Dubey, a NEET candidate from Uttar Pradesh who narrowly missed a medical seat last year, said the repeated allegations of paper leaks had left students emotionally exhausted and unable to focus. Educators say many aspirants are struggling to prepare again for the rescheduled examination, while growing public outrage has intensified political demands for reforms in the examination system.
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