NEET UG Exam Cancellation & Paper Leak Tragedy

Aarti Jerath Political Commentator

The cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 exam (the central examination for admission to government medical colleges across the country) held on May 3 after its paper was leaked is no less than a deep blow to lakhs of students and their families. These students and their families had put their lives on hold for months, if not years, in the hope that this one test would open the door to a better future for them.

Although the new examination has been scheduled to be held on June 21, the impact of this cancellation is continuously deepening. At least three candidates have committed suicide so far, while thousands of others are suffering from mental depression. They are once again faced with another vicious cycle of worry, uncertainty and rigorous studies.

The government has ordered a CBI inquiry into the case and nine people have been arrested so far. This leak now seems to be taking the form of a scam spreading in many cities. Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan justified the cancellation of the exam by saying that the government does not want deserving students to suffer. He also said that from next year, NEET-UG will be conducted online on computers instead of the pen-and-paper system, and students who do not want to appear for re-exam will be refunded the exam fees.

But for the estimated 22.05 lakh students who will appear for the exam on May 3, the exam fee does not matter that much. The country’s competitive examination system exacts a backbreaking price from students and their families. Boys and girls who have just come out of adolescence are sent to ‘coaching factories’ in cities like Kota, Sikar, Prayagraj.

They become isolated from friends, their daily routines are disrupted, and they struggle with physical and mental health problems. They spend hours studying in the hope of being successful. This goes on for months, sometimes years and candidates push themselves to the breaking point to crack their dream exam.

Especially the middle class families living in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities dream of sending their children to a medical college or an IIT and are ready to make any sacrifice for it. They risk their entire life savings to pay for the fees of these coaching institutes and the living expenses of their children. Often they postpone the marriages of their other children, put off home repairs, even postpone their own treatment, in the hope that their children will one day become qualified doctors, engineers or get a prestigious job.

NTA was established in 2018 with the aim to centralize the conduct of examinations for major professional courses like engineering and medical in government institutions. The exams conducted by NTA include exams like JEE (Main), NEET-UG, CUET-UG, UGC-NET and CSIR-NET for IITs. But controversies related to paper leaks and cancellation of examinations have continuously tainted his record.

According to data provided to Parliament by the Education Ministry in 2024, although NTA successfully conducted 240 examinations, it had to postpone at least 16 important examinations related to prestigious posts and admissions during the same period. In 2025, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education found that at least five of the 14 competitive examinations conducted by the NTA in the period 2024–25 faced serious problems such as paper leaks and errors in the compilation of results. For example, in JEE (Main) 2025, 12 questions had to be withdrawn due to mistakes found in the final answer key.

The most serious thing is that this is not the first time that NEET-UG has been embroiled in a scam. The paper was leaked in 2024 also. That year, the matter reached the Supreme Court, which admitted that the paper was leaked but refused to cancel the exam, saying that re-exam would put excessive burden on students.

The Education Ministry should answer the question that why paper leaks and other problems continue to haunt NTA? Exams not conducted by NTA – like CBSE and UPSC exams – are generally untouched by these problems.

There has been a big blow to the credibility of the examination system, which should be a transparent system giving equal opportunities to the youth. How long can people continue to trust an agency that has let them down time and again?

(These are the author’s own views)

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