Students are angry and frustrated after the NEET undergraduate medical
entrance exam was cancelled on Tuesday following a suspected question paper leak, raising uncertainty over their future.
Conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), students must ace NEET for admission to medical colleges across India. For aspirants, it represents years of preparation culminating in a single test.
The exam, held on May 3 this year, has now been cancelled.
“It is tough to accept that the exam has been cancelled. We made many sacrifices in the past few years for that one day. I had a decent score and was mentally prepared to get into a good college. All of that is uncertain now,” said Ranaay Datta, who completed ISC from St James’ School.
Many students like Ranaay said they had fallen out of the academic rhythm crucial for such competitive exams.
“Once an exam is over, you look forward to counselling, not to writing it again. Even a few days’ gap can affect speed, practice and focus. A competitive exam is not like a board exam where you revise the same syllabus over and over again. It is far more focused, and about the ability to eliminate errors,” said a distressed parent.
The NTA, with approval from the government of India, announced that the NEET (UG) 2026 exam has been cancelled and will be re-conducted on dates to be notified later.
The development has also disrupted family plans. Many families who had scheduled holidays are now cancelling them.
Souvic Jati had planned to take his daughter, who had appeared for the exam, on a trip to Odisha on Thursday. “It was supposed to be a one-week trip with extended family. We have now cancelled it because we don’t know the new exam dates. We cannot take any chances,” he said.
His daughter had been hoping for admission to a government medical college. “I would not be able to afford her medical education under the management quota in a private college,” he said.
In a national competitive exam like NEET, even a slight change in performance can significantly affect rank.
“The rank of a candidate depends on relative performance. A competitive exam tests analytical ability. Unlike board exams, the rejection ratio is very high, and even a single mark can make a big difference,” said Debdeep Banerjee, director of Techno India University.
Coaching institutes said the cancellation has had a demoralising effect, especially on serious candidates who had estimated scores in the 622-650 range (out of 720).
“This kind of cancellation demotivates students, particularly serious ones. For many, it was their second attempt. Some had even taken a one-year gap for NEET. Regaining the same drive and performance level again is difficult,” said Dilshad Ahmed, head of a coaching institute in Ballygunge.
Allegations of paper leaks in NEET are not new. Over the years, there have been multiple complaints of question papers being circulated before exams.
In 2024, allegations emerged that papers were leaked through networks operating in Bihar and Jharkhand. The CBI later traced the leak to a school strong room in Hazaribagh. That year saw an unusually high number of perfect scorers, raising further suspicion. The matter reached the Supreme Court, which acknowledged irregularities but declined to cancel the exam nationwide, citing insufficient evidence of a large enough breach.
“An all-India competitive exam that determines the future of so many students must have stronger safeguards and greater sanctity,” said Ahmed from the coaching centre.