NEET 2026: The Government Knew How to Fix It—But Refused to Act

In October 2024, after the first paper leak, the government constituted the Radhakrishnan Committee to diagnose NEET’s vulnerabilities. The committee did its job. It gave 101 recommendations—specific, actionable solutions that could have prevented the exact scenario that unfolded in May 2026. But the government ignored almost all of them.

“The most important point is that the government has learned nothing from this occurrence in 2024 and that caused a repeat of the paper leak this year,” Dr. Dhruv Chauhan, National Spokesperson of the Indian Medical Association (IMA), said in our discussion. “The need to conduct a re-examination itself simply points to the absolute failure of the authorities.”

Also Read:  How NEET Let the Paper Leak—And Why It Will Happen Again

Understanding What NEET Is—And Why It Matters

NEET—the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test—is the gateway to medical education in India. It determines who becomes a doctor. Every year, over 22 lakh students compete for roughly 1.1 lakh MBBS seats. For students from poor and middle-class backgrounds, NEET represents the only path to a stable career, respect, and upward mobility.

But NEET is more than just an exam. It is the foundation of India’s healthcare system. The doctors selected through NEET will treat patients, make life-and-death decisions, and shape the public health of the nation. When the exam is compromised, India’s healthcare future is compromised.

“This is something that deals with the healthcare of the nation,” Dr. Chauhan explained. “This directly deals with the economic status of the nation because if the country is healthy, the economic status will improve anyway.”

Yet despite this critical importance, NEET 2026 operated on a system designed in an era before cybersecurity threats became existential. The exam is conducted on a single day, across 551 cities with over 5,400 exam centres, with 22.7 lakh students, using pen-and-paper format. Physical papers must be printed, transported, stored, and distributed—creating hundreds of vulnerability points.

The Leak That Should Never Have Happened Again

In 2024, the NEET paper leaked from Oasis School in Hazaribagh, Jharkhand. The principal and vice principal were arrested. The CBI launched an investigation. The Supreme Court heard the matter. The government said it would fix the system.

Then came October 2024: the Radhakrishnan Committee submitted 101 recommendations. These were not vague suggestions. They were specific, technical solutions:

Implement computer-based testing immediately. Encrypt question papers with access restricted to minutes before the exam. Use biometric verification. Implement AI-based surveillance. Decentralise exam administration by involving state governments. Create fast-track courts for prosecution of those involved.

The government officially accepted the committee’s report. But accepting a report and implementing its recommendations are two very different things. During our discussion, P. Sesh Kumar, former Director General of the CAG, underscored this distinction: “Accepting the report is one thing. Accepting the recommendations is another. But the most important step is actually implementing those recommendations.”

On May 3, 2026, the exam was conducted. Within 42 hours, a ‘guess paper’ circulated on Telegram with approximately 120 matching questions from Biology and Chemistry sections. Students panicked. On May 12, the NTA cancelled the exam. Once again, 22 lakh students were left in limbo. 

Also Read:  NEET 2024: An Educational Catastrophe of Unseen Proportions

NEET 2026: The Coaching Mafia and the Organized Nexus

What emerges from examining NEET 2026 is not a random security breach, but an organised ecosystem of profiteering. Coaching centers, brokers, exam administrators, and potentially NTA officials form a network that benefits from chaos.

“Money has the power to buy people, organisations, and even the government,” Dr. Chauhan explained. “We are talking about exam paper leaks in 2024 and 2026. But I can tell you with confidence that the paper leaks have been regularly happening every year. It is just that it never gets reported by the media. It becomes a huge issue only when the media takes it up like in the case of 2024 and 2026.”

Dr. Chauhan continued, “The coaching center ecosystem in Kota, Rajasthan—the epicenter of India’s medical entrance exam preparation—is particularly troubling. Some institutions celebrate 700-plus marks for dozens of students, predicting with uncanny accuracy who will score high. How do they know? Because they have access to information others don’t”.

“This nexus extends into government agencies themselves. In the NEET 2026 case, two exam setters who were with the NTA were arrested for their involvement in the leak. Two people inside the system responsible for creating the question papers. This is not an external threat—it is internal rot,” noted Dr. Chauhan.

Sesh Kumar acknowledged the complex landscape of accountability mechanisms: “There is clearly scope for improvement and microscopic examination of systemic failures. Parliamentary committees are actively examining the matter—they have summoned NTA officials for detailed questioning. The CBI has been tasked with a comprehensive investigation. The Supreme Court is being petitioned for direct oversight, and medical associations and civil society groups are pursuing accountability through legal channels.”

But investigation alone is not enough when the system actively resists reform.

Also Read:  Kota’s Ongoing Struggle with Student Suicides

Why Computer-Based Testing Wasn’t Implemented

The most damning question surrounding NEET 2026 is simple: why wasn’t computer-based testing implemented despite being one of the key recommendation from the Radhakrishnan Committee?

The government’s answer: logistical challenges. Technical complexity. Timeline constraints. But these answers ring hollow when other countries manage equivalent or larger exams securely using technology. The SAT serves millions of students in the United States. The GRE is secure. Medical entrance exams in the UK, Canada, and Australia have not experienced recurring leaks.

“If the exam is converted into a computer-based test, these problems would be minimised, if not eliminated altogether,” Sesh Kumar said. “Why the government has not implemented computer-based testing, despite the recommendation of the Radhakrishnan Committee, only the government knows. It could be due to logistical challenges, or perhaps vested interests.”

The vested interests angle is critical. A pen-and-paper exam creates dependency on printing agencies, transportation networks, storage facilities, and exam centers. Each dependency point creates opportunity for corruption. Computer-based testing would eliminate most of these vulnerabilities—and eliminate the revenue streams for those who profit from chaos.

The Silent Toll: A Mental Health Crisis

The cancellation of NEET 2026 exposed a crisis that extended far beyond examination administration: the psychological devastation of over 22 lakh aspirants whose years of preparation were abruptly invalidated. Some students died by suicide in the immediate aftermath of the May 12 cancellation. These deaths were not isolated incidents—they reflect a documented pattern of psychological trauma among high-stakes examination aspirants.

What distinguished the NEET 2026 crisis was its timing: students had already completed the examination, calculated their performance, and begun the psychological transition from preparation to rest. The government’s announcement of cancellation forced an impossible reversal—demanding that minds already in a state of completion suddenly return to active preparation, now under clouds of institutional failure and diminished confidence in the examination system itself.

The financial scale of preparation creates additional vulnerability. Aspirants invest ₹1.5 to ₹3 lakh annually on coaching, often in cities far from home, with total preparation costs reaching ₹3 to ₹5 lakh when accommodation and living expenses are included. These costs frequently require families to sell property, take loans, or incur significant debt. Many aspirants live in rented accommodation away from home for two to three years, isolated from family and social support systems. When the examination concludes, this psychological and financial exhaustion culminates in a state of release—study materials are put away, hostels are vacated, the body rests. In this fragile transitional state, when aspirants are most vulnerable to psychological disruption, the government’s cancellation announcement created acute trauma for many. 

What Accountability Actually Looks Like

In response to NEET 2026, Dr. Chauhan co-filed a Supreme Court petition demanding immediate action: shift to computer-based testing this year itself. 

“I know implementing CBT this year itself may be very challenging as there is not much time. But my point is that if the government can spend crores on freebies, they can also spend a few crores more and get this exam conducted in a more professional manner using technology. We are waiting to see if the Supreme Court will hear our petition and give us a favourable order.”

The solution is structural, not superficial. The Radhakrishnan Committee, in its recommendations, prescribed biometric and AI-based candidate verification, encrypted digital transmission of question papers, centre-based secure printing, expansion of computer-based testing, stronger CCTV surveillance, and reduced dependence on outsourced staff. The government has now announced that NEET will be conducted entirely in computer-based mode from 2027, a decision that addresses the fundamental vulnerability in the current system: physical question papers that must be printed, transported, stored, and distributed across thousands of examination centres create multiple points of interception for organised leaks. 

The Radhakrishnan Committee has recommended that the NTA develop at least 1000 secure Standard Testing Centres across the country in a phased manner, utilising reputed Government institutions including Kendriya Vidyalayas and Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas. Computer-based, multi-shift exams designed from the ground up for digital integrity, as demonstrated by JEE Main, face fewer recurring breach patterns than pen-and-paper, single-shot models. This decentralised infrastructure combined with encrypted digital papers, biometric authentication, and near-election-grade security protocols transforms NEET from a vulnerable, centralised mass examination into a distributed, digitally secured assessment.

Technology alone is insufficient without institutional accountability. The Radhakrishnan report prescribed more permanent staff, less outsourcing, dedicated committees for test audit, ethics and transparency, and a clear mandate to focus on entrance exams rather than being burdened with miscellaneous tests. Proposed long-term reforms include curbs on the number of attempts and a cap on the candidate’s age. Beyond NTA restructuring, the committee recommended stronger CCTV and data retention norms, limits on attempts, an oversight mechanism for coaching institutes, and a genuinely responsive grievance redress architecture.

In response to the 2026 crisis, medical associations have petitioned the Supreme Court for a high-powered monitoring committee chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge, a cybersecurity expert, and a forensic scientist. The Radhakrishnan Report itself recommends that the Government establish a High-Powered Steering Committee to oversee implementation of these recommendations. These institutional checks—permanent oversight bodies, dedicated NTA leadership, coach institute monitoring, and transparent grievance mechanisms—create accountability that prevents the implementation stalls that plagued 2024-2026. Without these structural and institutional reforms working in concert, technology safeguards become theater, and the cycle of leaks, cancellations, and student trauma repeats.