NEET UG 2026 Aspirants Slam Cancellation Over Alleged Paper Leak

After the Centre cancelled the NEET UG 2026 exam amid allegations of paper leak and examination irregularities, a NEET aspirant, Yuvraj Singh, said that the news induces “mental trauma” in those who cleared the exam with hard work, calling the paper leak “an annual occurrence.”

Singh, preparing to appear for NEET UG 2027, expressed the fear that the students of his batch already feel. He said that the students who studied hard for the exam held on May 3 must have been impacted adversely by the news of the re-examination.

“Since we are NEET aspirants for next year, we also have to take the NEET exam next year, so we are thinking that it has become almost an annual occurrence now; it happened in 2024 as well, and after that, we saw how many 720 results were achieved, so it has happened this time too. This is happening to people who are working very hard. Now think about that person who scored 650 plus marks; their seat in a Government Medical College was certain, and they must have been spending quality time with their family, but now that they’ve heard this news, imagine the mental trauma they must be in,” he said.

Another aspirant criticised the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the administration lapses, questioning how the paper got leaked despite supervision, calling the incident “traumatic.”

“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,” she said.

Another aspirant said that the exam reflects the aspirations of both the student and the families, adding that the cancellation and re-exam make the process tedious and impact the mental health of all those involved. He further demanded that the NEET examination be conducted in an online mode to prevent the recurring instances of paper leak.

“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… 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 said.

An aspirant from Lucknow seconded the opinion and called for the NTA to change the medium of the examination to online so as to avoid the hassle for the students.

“We cannot do anything about it now that it has been suspended. We are disappointed… The NTA should change the medium of the exam… We will have to travel again,” he said.

Another aspirant from Odisha’s Bhubaneshwar said that the process of re-appearing for an examination is “stressful” and urged the Centre to take appropriate action on the matter.

“The exam being leaked is a big deal… Appearing once again makes it more stressful… The Government of India should take a huge action on it,” she said.

Meanwhile, a NEET aspirant from Rajasthan’s Kota expressed disappointment over the matter and called for NTA to make a proper decision keeping in mind the hassle of aspirants and to ensure that such incident is not repeated.

“This is a very bad news for all those who took the examination. NTA should take a proper decision which should not affect all aspirants. Not everyone can deal with such a news. With this news coming in, I feel what if my hard work goes waste. What is the guarantee that such a thing will not repeat in the re-examination?” she asked.

Another aspirant from Rajasthan’s Kota, who appeared in the May 3 examination, expressed disappointment and explained how tedious the process of re-studying would be.

“I appeared in the NEET examinations that were held on 3rd May. I got to know that they have been cancelled because some papers were leaked in Rajasthan… I am not satisfied with this news. I will have to study the entire syllabus again… It’s really disappointing,” she said.

Another aspirant expressed disagreement over the cancellation of the already conducted examination, recognising it as a dismissal of the hard work of the students who studied honestly.

“In my opinion, this is a very poor decision by the NTA; it’s especially unfair to those students who worked hard day and night for two consecutive years to take this NEET exam fairly. Because of a small percentage of children who leaked the paper or cheated, you are canceling the paper for the rest who worked hard for two years; in my opinion, it’s a very wrong decision,” he said.

Voicing similar opinions, an aspirant said that her exam went very well and that taking the re-exam is difficult. She asked the NTA to increase the security and conduct the paper digitally.

“My exam was very good… We are feeling very bad that it was leaked… We studied for 15 hours. The security should be increased… NEET should be held digitally… If re NEET happens, the paper will be more difficult,” she stated.

Meanwhile, amid allegations of a paper leak and examination irregularities, the Centre cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3 and announced that the country’s biggest undergraduate medical entrance test will be re-conducted on dates to be notified separately.

The Government has also referred the matter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for a comprehensive probe into the allegations.

In a statement, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said the decision was taken after inputs were examined in coordination with central agencies, and findings shared by law enforcement agencies raised concerns over the integrity of the examination process.

The agency clarified that the registration data, candidature details and examination centres chosen by candidates for the May 2026 cycle would remain valid for the re-test. No fresh registration will be required, and no additional fee will be charged.

As per the NTA, 22.79 lakh students appeared for the exam on May 3, which was held across 551 cities in India and 14 cities abroad, covering more than 5,400 centres. (ANI)