NEET: No full paper leak but a few questions, claims NTA

New Delhi: Facing mounting scrutiny over the NEET-UG controversy, the National Testing Agency (NTA) told a Parliamentary Standing Committee that there had been no “full” question paper leak in the May 3, 2026, examination, insisting instead that only a few questions had been compromised. The explanation came during a high-level meeting convened to examine the irregularities surrounding the medical entrance test, even as the agency itself admitted that serious lapses had forced the cancellation of the exam.

Higher Education Secretary Vineet Joshi attended the meeting in which NTA officials reportedly argued that the violations uncovered could not be treated as a complete paper leak. The agency maintained that the decision to scrap the examination was part of its supposedly “zero-tolerance” approach towards malpractice. Officials claimed that even a limited compromise of questions could damage the credibility of the examination process.

However, the agency’s repeated assertion that there was no paper leak contradicts its own acknowledgement that irregularities severe enough to derail the examination had indeed taken place. The cancellation affected more than 2.2 million students across the country, throwing their academic future into uncertainty. A re-examination was later ordered for June 21.

The controversy deepened further after the matter was handed over to the CBI. According to officials, the probe unearthed several details, including the alleged involvement of some NTA personnel and teachers from Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. The revelations have intensified questions over the integrity of the examination system, with critics arguing that the agency’s defence before the parliamentary panel amounted more to damage control than a convincing explanation.