NEET UG 2026 cancelled: A look at the major NTA controversies over the years

The cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 has once again placed the National Testing Agency under intense scrutiny, reviving concerns over the credibility and administration of India’s largest competitive examinations. Conducted on May 3 for undergraduate medical admissions, the exam was cancelled after reports of a paper leak emerged from multiple states, affecting nearly 22 lakh candidates.

"On the basis of inputs subsequently examined by NTA in coordination with central agencies, and the investigative findings shared by the law enforcement agencies, the National Testing Agency, with the approval of the Government of India, has decided to cancel the NEET (UG) 2026 examination conducted on 3 May 2026, and to re-conduct the examination on dates that will be notified separately," the agency posted on X. Fresh examination dates are expected to be announced shortly.

The immediate trigger for the cancellation came from an investigation by Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group. According to the probe, around 140 questions from a handwritten 'guess paper' circulated before the exam allegedly matched the actual NEET-UG paper. The questions reportedly carried nearly 600 marks out of the total 720. According to reports, investigators said the material had been shared two to three days before the examination, raising concerns over a possible organised leak network.

The NTA was established in 2017 under the Ministry of Education to conduct major national entrance examinations, including NEET, JEE Main, CUET and UGC NET. The agency functions under the Department of Higher Education and is currently chaired by Pradeep Joshi. It was created to streamline exam administration through standardised and technology-driven testing systems. However, repeated controversies have raised questions over oversight, security protocols and operational management.

CBI registered a case in September 2021 against a private company, its directors, employees and conduits for manipulating JEE Main 2021 exams. They allegedly enabled admissions to NITs via remote solving from Sonepat, charging 12–15 lakh per candidate and taking IDs, passwords and post-dated cheques. Investigations followed leaked screenshots and revealed impersonation; the Ministry placed 49 centres and over 400 candidates under surveillance. Searches at 19 locations in Delhi-NCR, Pune, Jamshedpur, Indore and Bengaluru led to recovery of devices, cheques and documents. Several individuals were questioned during the ongoing probe. Large volumes of incriminating digital and physical evidence were seized.

The National Testing Agency again faced criticism during JEE Main 2025 after 12 questions were dropped from the final answer key due to errors. Despite removing the questions, the error rate in the examination reportedly rose to 1.6 per cent, significantly above the accepted threshold of 0.6 per cent. Students and teachers also raised concerns over the agency’s transparency, pointing to dropped questions, alleged out-of-syllabus content and translation errors in one of India’s most important engineering entrance examinations.

NEET has witnessed repeated controversies over the years. In 2020, an error in score reporting wrongly showed Madhya Pradesh student Vidhi Suryavanshi, 18, scoring six marks instead of 590. The incident later drew national attention after the student died by suicide.

In 2024, NEET-UG faced allegations of paper leaks, unusual score patterns and controversy over compensatory marks. Initially, 67 candidates secured top ranks, with six reportedly emerging from the same examination centre. However, the number of toppers was later reduced to 61 after the National Testing Agency withdrew grace marks awarded to 1,563 students due to loss of examination time. Questions were also raised after some candidates scored 718 and 719 marks despite the examination’s +4 and -1 marking system, prompting scrutiny over the awarding of compensatory marks.

The first edition of CUET-UG in 2022 was marred by technical glitches, centre changes and cancellations that affected thousands of students nationwide. Delays also disrupted university admission schedules. In June 2024, the UGC NET examination was cancelled after inputs from the Ministry of Home Affairs suggested that the integrity of the examinations had been compromised. the lapses included verification issues and poor exam centre infrastructure.

The cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 has renewed demands for reforms in India’s examination system. Repeated allegations involving leaks, technical failures, answer-key disputes and administrative lapses have intensified concerns about the ability of testing agencies to conduct secure, large-scale examinations without compromising student trust and academic fairness.