NEW DELHI: The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3, citing allegations of a question paper leak and other irregularities, throwing the future of nearly 22.79 lakh aspirants into uncertainty. While Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan declined to respond to questions on the controversy, the NTA failed to provide concrete details on the alleged leak or clarity on the re-examination schedule during its media briefing, drawing sharp criticism from protesting students and opposition parties that demanded accountability from the Centre.The government has directed a Central Bureau of Investigation inquiry into the alleged irregularities linked to the examination. One person has been detained in Maharashtra’s Nashik in connection with the case so far. Moreover, Bihar Police has arrested 3 in the case.The controversy erupted after reports of suspected malpractice surfaced from Rajasthan and Uttarakhand following the May 3 examination. Investigators revealed that a document containing nearly 410 questions had allegedly been circulated among students between 15 days and a month before the test. Officials said around 120 questions from the Chemistry section were purportedly identical to those in the actual exam paper. Authorities further claimed that the material was distributed through WhatsApp groups just 42 hours before the examination.
What authorities say
Union eductaion minister Dharmendra Pradhan declined to comment on questions surrounding the cancellation of the NEET-UG 2026 examination. He also refrained from responding when reporters sought his reaction to the controversy after the Centre cancelled the medical entrance exam earlier in the day.Meanwhile, NTA director general Abhishek Singh held a presser and said the revised schedule for the re-examination would be announced within the next 7–10 days. He took responsiblity of the incident, saying “paper leaks should stop with “immediate effect”. He added that some questions in PDF circulating among students prior to exams “matched actual question paper”. “We will tell you the schedule within next 7-10 days,” he said. “The paper conducted on May 3 had four code versions. None of the papers were found in the market, and no leak has been established. In the PDF that circulated, there were many questions, and some of them appeared similar to questions from the exam paper. So, I would not say that the entire paper was leaked. But I will definitely say that even if a single question matches our question paper, then our commitment to zero tolerance and zero error is violated, and our entire process is compromised. We will take responsibility for it and take action accordingly,” he added.Addressing questions on possible internal involvement in the alleged paper leak, Singh said the agency had urged the CBI to identify and arrest all those responsible, whether from within or outside the NTA, and ensure strict action to prevent such incidents in the future.“Be it someone inside or outside, whoever it is, we urge the CBI to arrest them and punish them so that this issue can be cured at the root,” he said.“Paper leaks should end with immediate effect. It is not good for anyone. We take this responsibility because what happened is wrong and we are cancelling the exam. We will conduct the exam again with an assurance,” he added.
Opposition asks is this ‘amrit kaal’?
The opposition leaders called for the resignation of the education minister and called it a “poison period” for the nation. “The NEET 2026 exam has been cancelled. The hard work, sacrifices, and dreams of over 22 lakh students have been crushed by this corrupt BJP regime. Some fathers took out loans, some mothers sold their jewellery, lakhs of children stayed up all night studying, and in return, they got paper leaks, governmental negligence, and organised corruption in education. This isn’t just a failure—it’s a crime against the future of the youth. Every time, the paper mafia get away scot-free, while honest students bear the punishment,” Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi said.“Now, lakhs of students will once again endure the same mental stress, financial burden, and uncertainty. If one’s destiny is to be determined not by hard work, but by money and connections, then what’s the point of education? The Prime Minister’s so-called Amrit Kaal has turned into a poison period for the nation,” he added.TMC MP Mahua Moitra asked the Centre to take accountability for the incident and said: “NEET UG 2026 entrance exam cancelled over question paper leaks. Almost 100 paper leaks & 50 re-exams in past decade of Modi Rajya. Over 20 lakh students affected in this last leak alone. Accountability, anyone?”DMK chief MK Stalin suggested that re-conducting the exam would only lead to delays and added that MBBS seats should be allotted on the basis of class 12 marks, like before.“Conducting the NEET exam again will only create delays and confusion in students’ higher education aspirations. Therefore, MBBS seats should once again be allotted based solely on Class 12 examination marks, as was done earlier,” he said.SP chief Akhilesh Yadav raised the apprehension that how would Centre ensure that the paper wouldn’t leak the second time exam is conducted.“What guarantee is there that the exam won’t leak again if it’s conducted a second time? This news has sparked immense anger and despair among millions of children and their tens of millions of family members against the BJP’s corrupt system. As long as the corrupt BJP government remains in power, the examination system will continue to run on the basis of leaks. As long as the BJP government is in place, exams will keep getting leaked; only after the BJP is gone will the examination system be set right. BJP government means a failed government!” he said in a post on X.
Medical body, students condemn move
The Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) demanded strict accountability into the matter saying that the incident had “shattered the trust of lakhs of sincere aspirants”. “Such repeated failures expose serious gaps in the system responsible for conducting one of the country’s most important examinations,” PTI quoted FAIMA national chairperson Jaideep Kumar Choudhary saying. “We demand strict accountability and exemplary punishment for every individual or organisation involved,” he said. NSUI staged a protest outside the NTA office and demanded the resignation of education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.“Dharmendra Pradhan must resign. Corrupt NTA must be banned. From paper leaks to institutional failure, students have suffered enough. The fight will continue from the streets to Parliament until accountability is fixed. Judicial probe now. This government must go,” it said in a post on X.
Students slam NTA
Several NEET aspirants expressed frustration and distress over the cancellation of the examination and the alleged paper leak, with many questioning the functioning of the NTA.One student criticised the agency over what she described as serious administrative lapses, saying it was difficult to understand how the paper could have been leaked despite claims of strict monitoring mechanisms, including GPS-tracked vehicles used for transporting question papers. “If such a big agency such as NTA claims that it has GPS tracked vehicles, then it is not good when such a thing happens. After working so hard, when such a thing happens, it is traumatic,” ANI quoted the student saying.Another aspirant said the examination represented not only the dreams of students but also the aspirations of their families. “This is a dream for the children, the parents, and the families, and to fulfill this dream, it’s not just a matter of one or two months of hard work; many children have been preparing since sixth or seventh grade. For those who score very well and are good at their studies, taking the exam again isn’t a massive issue, but think about it: if you have to repeat a task over and over again,” ANI quoted him saying.“Even Prime Minister Modi and various agencies talk a lot about children’s mental health. Think of those children who worked hard and today they are being told that no, you have to take the exam again in a month or a month and a half. They were ready to live their dream, thinking they would be starting college in just two months, but what happened today? And this problem is recurring; there is a way to solve it. We have been repeatedly demanding that this exam should be conducted online. If this exam goes online, this problem will be uprooted; the issue of paper leaks will never exist again,” he added.
