The NEET-UG 2026 Lowdown and India’s Social Fabric

The NEET 2026 fiasco dealt a severe blow to the aspirations and emotional well-being of nearly 22.05 lakh candidates competing for about 1.08 lakh MBBS seats in medical colleges across the country. The intensity of the competition gets highlighted when one considers that only around 63,000 of these seats are available in government medical colleges. In effect, nearly 20 candidates compete for every MBBS seat, while approximately 35 candidates vie for each seat in a government medical college.

The magnitude of the stakes involved becomes clearer when one examines the total expenditure, including tuition fees and allied expenses, for completing the MBBS programme:

Estimated Cost of Completing MBBS:

Category	Approximate Total Cost
Government medical colleges	Rs 3 – 10 lakh
Private colleges (Government quota seats)	Rs 15 – 45 lakh
Private colleges (Management quota seats)	Rs 60 lakh – 1.5 crore
Private colleges and Deemed Universities	Rs 1.2 – 2.5 crore
NRI quota seats	Rs 1.5 – 3 crore

These figures make it evident that medical education in most private colleges and universities remains far beyond the reach of middle-class families. The situation is further complicated by the existing reservation policies, which substantially reduce the number of open-category seats available in government institutions. For many middle-class students, securing admission to a government medical college represents the only realistic path to pursuing a medical career.

In such circumstances, the leakage of the question paper and the subsequent cancellation of the examination understandably triggered widespread anger, anxiety, and emotional turmoil among students and their families. For lakhs of aspirants, years of hard work, financial sacrifice, and emotional investment suddenly appeared uncertain and vulnerable. It is all the more ironic because most of the students pay huge amounts to various coaching institutes to prepare for the entrance examination.

The Indian Environment and National Values

The fiasco surrounding NEET-UG 2026 was not the first instance in which the integrity of a competitive examination in India, whether for admission to an academic programme or recruitment to government service, had been compromised. Such lapses have, in fact, become distressingly normalised within the Indian system. After an initial outpouring of anger, disappointment, and frustration, people gradually reconcile themselves to these incidents as an unfortunate part of their fate. Scandals involving question-paper leaks, impersonation, tampering of records, and other irregularities have repeatedly disrupted recruitment and entrance examinations across the country. Regrettably, those entrusted with ensuring the fair and secure conduct of these examinations have rarely been held meaningfully accountable. More often than not, scapegoats are identified at lower levels of the administrative machinery, wherein touts and intermediaries involved in the misconduct are arrested and legal proceedings initiated against them.

Vyapam Scam. A striking example has been the infamous Vyapam Scam that came to light in 2013 in connection with the Madhya Pradesh Professional Examination Board. Investigations revealed widespread fraud affecting 13 examinations conducted between the mid-2000s and 2013. Candidates allegedly used impersonators, obtained leaked answer keys, and even manipulated answer sheets to secure admissions and government jobs. In 2017, the Hon’ble Supreme Court cancelled the degrees of 634 doctors who had fraudulently gained admission through the scam (Just imagine, they had deprived 634 deserving candidates from getting admissions to MBBS programmes). More than 2,000 persons linked to the scandal were arrested. Adding to the public unease, at least 23 key witnesses and accused persons died under mysterious circumstances, with many of these cases classified as “unnatural deaths.” Yet, despite the enormity of the scandal, no senior officials responsible for conducting the examinations, nor the political leadership accountable for governance, faced meaningful consequences. In a mature democracy, and in a nation that prides itself on its ethical and civilisational values, such a grave breach of public trust should have triggered sustained public outrage until those guilty of dereliction of duty or wrongdoing were punished. Instead, many bureaucrats escaped accountability altogether (and perhaps, even got promoted!), while politicians associated with the system were re-elected by the public, and some were even rewarded with ministerial positions.

They say a country gets the government it deserves!

Some of the important cases pertaining to irregularities in conduct of examinations in the past five years in the country are: –

• Sub-Inspector Recruitment Examination 2021, Rajasthan: There were cases of leakage of papers involving officials and coaching-institute staff. Large scale arrests were made and inquiries were initiated. Outcome of the inquiries and consequent action taken are not known.
• Railway Recruitment Board Examination 2022: There were allegations of leakage of question papers and other malpractices in different Railway-Zones. There were large scale protests over results. The Government initiated investigations and review of procedures. Action taken against the guilty is not known.
• Bihar Public Service Examination 2022: Question paper was leaked through insiders and using messaging apps. The examination was cancelled and re-conducted. Punitive action against the culprits is not known.
• Staff Service Commission Recruitment Controversies 2023: There were allegations of digital sharing and centre-level compromise in some recruitment tests. Investigations were carried out and measures for tighter monitoring were recommended. Details of punitive actions against the culprits are not known.
• Rajasthan Teacher Recruitment Examination 2023: The question paper was leaked through organised intermediaries and coaching institutes linked networks. A large number of persons were arrested, examination was reconducted and there has been prolonged litigation.
• UP Police Constable Recruitment Examination 2024: The question paper was leaked through organised networks wherein the examination content was circulated before the test. The examination for around 48 lakh candidates was cancelled. Details of actions against guilty are still not known.
• NEET-UG 2024: There were allegations that the question paper had been leaked and that certain candidates in Bihar and Jharkhand had gained advance access to it. Several paper-solver gangs were allegedly involved in the racket. In the aftermath, the Government removed the then Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA) from his post. After being placed on “compulsory wait”, he was appointed as Additional Secretary and Financial Adviser in the Union Ministry of Steel in October 2024. He was subsequently repatriated to his parent cadre in Chhattisgarh and later served as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. The Government entrusted the investigation into the irregularities to the CBI. However, no charges of dereliction of duty, negligence, or incompetence were brought against the DG, nor was any prosecution initiated. On the contrary, his subsequent appointments to important positions could reasonably be interpreted as promotions rather than punitive action.
• ITBP Constable Recruitment Examination 2025. There was a furore when question papers surfaced on WhatsApp before the examination was conducted. Delhi Police arrested officials linked with the printing-and-handling agency. As usual, there was no punitive action against those responsible for conduct of the examination. Allegedly, there were no efforts made to hold the top echelon accountable for propriety and performance of duties sincerely.
• NEET-UG 2026: The integrity of the examination was seriously compromised when “guess papers” containing substantial portions of the actual question paper were circulated through WhatsApp and Telegram networks before the examination. Investigations revealed links with coaching institutions as well as the involvement of insiders connected with the conduct of the examination. The case is presently under investigation by the CBI, and several arrests have been made, including faculty members associated with agencies assisting the NTA in conducting the examination. However, the Chief of the NTA, while appearing before a Parliamentary Committee, stated that the NTA was not responsible for the leakage and claimed that only “some” questions had been compromised. In reality, it has been alleged that nearly 120 out of the 180 questions were found to have appeared in the circulated “guess papers.” Despite the gravity of the lapse, it appears likely, as has often happened in the past, that those entrusted with ensuring the fair conduct of the examination may ultimately escape meaningful accountability. Equally unfortunate is the fact that the Union Minister responsible for the examination has not accepted moral responsibility for the episode, while several of his colleagues have publicly attempted to absolve him of any blame.

Causes Behind Security Compromise of Question Papers and Other Irregularities

Lack of sincerity of purpose, absence of commitment to assigned responsibilities, professional incompetence, poor ethics, and declining moral values among those entrusted with conducting examinations are some of the major factors responsible for question paper leaks, other irregularities in competitive examinations, and deficiencies in the subsequent evaluation processes.

The top echelons of the bureaucratic and political leadership have, time and again, displayed a disturbing lack of sensitivity and conscience toward the plight of candidates appearing for these examinations. Punishments, if at all prescribed, have often been delayed and convictions are rare. This encourages repeat offences. Even after earlier scandals, similar vulnerabilities continued to exist. Instead of accepting responsibility and initiating meaningful corrective measures, the dominant approach at both bureaucratic and political levels has been to pass the buck and find scapegoats.

In fact, the bureaucrats, including those in academia, are confident that no harm will come to them whatever may be the severity of negligence or incompetence. Similarly, the politicians are sure that the electorate would vote for them based on extraneous factors such as caste, religion and regional biases among others and their failures to provide good governance may not matter much.

As a result, a pervasive sense of déjà vu surrounds every new scandal. Repeated failures of governance have gradually conditioned Indians to accept this malaise as an unavoidable part of their fate.

Some of the other causes are:

• Insider Collusion: The most common factor is involvement of insiders comprising printing press staff, IT personnel, examination officials, paper setters or moderators, invigilators and centre supervisors. In several cases, investigators found that people with authorised access leaked papers for money.
• Weak Digital Security: Modern examinations increasingly rely on digital transmission and storage. The vulnerabilities involved are hacked servers, poor encryption, shared passwords, insecure email transmission and unprotected cloud storage. Leaked papers are often circulated rapidly through Telegram, WhatsApp, or PDF files.
• Outsourcing Without Oversight. Many agencies outsource printing, packaging, logistics, scanning of OMR sheets and data handling. When third-party vendors are poorly monitored, confidentiality breaks down. The ITBP case highlighted outsourcing failures in printing and handling operations.
• Organised “Solver” and Coaching Mafias. A parallel underground economy has emerged involving coaching institutes, middlemen, impersonators, professional “solvers” and corrupt officials. These groups charge enormous sums for leaked papers or guaranteed success. Vulnerable sections of society fall prey because of a stiff competition. Unfortunately, successive governments have shown no political will to combat this challenge.
• Poor Physical Security. There are physical vulnerabilities that include early opening of sealed packets containing question papers, weak storage facilities, unsecured transportation, lack of CCTV monitoring and improper chain-of-custody documentation. There have been instances, where question papers were photographed and resealed before distribution.
• Excessive Centralisation. National-level examinations conducted simultaneously for millions of candidates create large logistics chains, multiple handling points and high-value targets for criminal networks. A single breach can affect lakhs of candidates. There is a need for innovation in confronting this challenge.
• Corruption and High Stakes. The enormous competition for medical seats, engineering admissions and government jobs creates strong incentives for malpractices. Families sometimes pay hefty amounts running into lakhs of rupees to obtain leaked papers, obtain unfair advantages or access “solver” gangs.
• Overdependence on Coaching Ecosystems. Results of past investigations suggest that “guess papers”, mock tests and gimmicks like special coaching batches sometimes become channels through which leaked material spreads informally before the examination. It is a cat-and-mouse game. Those responsible for conduct of competitive examinations have to be ingenious and stay one step ahead of those indulging in malpractices.

Broader Consequences of Examination Process being Compromised

Whenever a scam involving the compromise of an examination comes to light, many ordinary people express anger, sympathise with the affected candidates, and demand strict punishment for those responsible. At the same time, however, there is also widespread resignation, cynicism, and gradual normalisation of corruption. Attitudes such as “Sab chalta hai” (“everything goes”), “Nothing moves without influence,” and “Only fools rely purely on honesty” have become increasingly common. In some cases, sections of society even admire those who are able to “manage the system” through contacts, bribery, political patronage, or manipulation. This reflects a survival-oriented mindset shaped over generations by bureaucratic opacity, scarcity of opportunities, and unequal access to power.

These repeated – indeed, almost routine – instances of compromise of the examination process have had serious consequences. They erode public faith in meritocracy and impose immense and often unwarranted psychological stress on students and their families. Frequent revelations of malpractices lead to delays in admissions and recruitment, prolonged litigation, and administrative uncertainty. They also strengthen organised corruption networks and severely damage the credibility of public institutions. Increasingly, the problem is no longer viewed as isolated cheating, but as an organised “examination black market” operating with sophistication and impunity.

Such developments reflect poorly on the prevailing value system in the country and weaken the very fabric of national character. The most disturbing aspect is the apparent indifference displayed by the top echelons of power – both political and bureaucratic – many of whom seem unconcerned about the long-term moral, institutional, and social consequences of this decay.

Measures Needed to Prevent Compromise of Examination Process in Future

The most important and critical reform required is a change in the approach of those responsible for conducting competitive examinations. They must develop a sense of attachment to the tasks entrusted to them and strive for excellence in the discharge of their responsibilities. The modus operandi adopted by those indulging in malpractices is generally well known. What is required is that the concerned officials apply their minds to the task at hand, carefully analyse the environment, display foresight, and adopt preventive measures capable of defeating the designs of scamsters. This is neither impossible nor excessively difficult. It can be achieved if the officials concerned are honest, sincere, competent, and diligent in the performance of their duties. What is urgently needed is a fundamental attitudinal change.

At the same time, the political leadership must also demonstrate ethical conduct and a genuine sense of accountability. Citizens, too, need to become more assertive in demanding transparency and accountability, and should not relent until those responsible are identified and brought to justice.

The judiciary also has an important role to play. Courts could take suo motu cognisance of such episodes, closely monitor investigations, and conduct day-to-day hearings to ensure that the guilty are punished expeditiously. In essence, what is required is not merely isolated corrective action, but a comprehensive systemic overhaul. After all such episodes also reflect on the image of the country in the global arena.

Some of the other measures that could be adopted are:

• End-to-end encryption of question papers.
• Last-minute digital paper generation.
• AI-based monitoring of suspicious activity.
• Strict vetting including background checks of staff and vendors.
• No process should be based on implicit faith.
• Multiple randomised question sets.
• Secure computer-based testing.
• Faster criminal prosecution.
• Independent audit of examination agencies.
• Strong whistle-blower protection.
• Reduction of human handling points in the process.

India has also enacted the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024 to impose stricter penalties for examination fraud. However, its effectiveness will depend on honest implementation. Will our bureaucrats and politicians have the moral courage to ensure strict implementation of this Act? That is a million dollar question!

Conclusion

Malpractices in competitive examinations in India, including question paper leaks, impersonation, use of unfair means, manipulation of evaluation processes and organised cheating networks, have become alarmingly frequent. Such incidents expose serious failures on the part of institutions and officials entrusted with conducting these examinations in a fair and transparent manner. Lack of professionalism, negligence, weak supervision and absence of accountability often allow those responsible to escape punishment, while lakhs of honest candidates suffer anxiety, uncertainty and loss of opportunities. There is an urgent need to strengthen examination systems through strict accountability including for political leadership, use of secure technology, better vigilance, timely action against offenders, and adoption of transparent procedures to restore public confidence.