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Education · Exam Fraud · India · Regulation
India's 2.2 million aspiring medical students are re-sitting the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) under heightened security after the previous exam was scrapped due to a paper leak, triggering widespread outrage and youth protests demanding the education minister's resignation.
The re-examination, scheduled for June 21, 2026, involves over 200,000 officials, biometric authentication, AI-enabled camera surveillance, and GPS tracking of question papers, according to the National Testing Agency (NTA). The Telegram messaging app was restricted, though its head, Pavel Durov, stated the ban would not work, arguing leaks moved to other apps and the issue was "insiders who leaked the exam materials." The NEET is crucial for over 100,000 undergraduate medical seats, and intense competition has fueled a vast coaching industry and criminal networks profiting from leaks.
The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested a chemistry lecturer identified as the alleged kingpin. This controversy follows another dispute over online marking for nearly two million high school students, with allegations of incorrect grades.
Public anger has led to the rise of the satirical "Cockroach People’s Party," which demands Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan's resignation. The scandal has also been linked to reports of student suicides.
