Education – Congress Questions NTA Statement Over Alleged NEET Exam Irregularities
Education – The political row surrounding the NEET-UG 2026 examination intensified on Friday after the Congress raised serious concerns over statements made by officials of the National Testing Agency regarding the alleged paper leak controversy. The opposition party argued that reports of a “guess paper” circulating among students before the examination pointed to possible security failures that could not be ignored.
Congress Raises Doubts Over NTA’s Position
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh criticised the National Testing Agency after media reports suggested that the agency’s Director General told a Parliamentary panel that the NEET-UG 2026 examination paper had not been leaked. According to the party, several questions that later appeared in the actual exam were already being shared among students ahead of the test date.
Ramesh questioned how such material could have circulated before the examination if there had been no compromise in the system. He described the reported remarks of the NTA chief as misleading and accused the government of attempting to downplay the seriousness of the allegations.
In a statement shared on social media platform X, the Congress leader alleged that the examination system under the NTA had repeatedly faced accusations of irregularities since the agency’s formation in 2018. He further claimed that authorities had failed to take adequate corrective action despite previous controversies linked to national-level entrance examinations.
Reference to Earlier NEET Controversies
The Congress also connected the present controversy to concerns raised during NEET-UG 2024. Ramesh stated that if stronger action had been taken after the earlier allegations, the current situation might have been prevented.
He pointed to Rajasthan’s Sikar region, which had earlier come under scrutiny during previous exam-related investigations, claiming that similar concerns had once again surfaced during the 2026 examination cycle. According to the Congress leader, repeated allegations emerging from the same areas reflected larger weaknesses in the examination monitoring system.
The opposition party maintained that transparency was necessary to restore trust among students and parents who depend on competitive examinations for admission to medical colleges across the country.
Questions Over CBI Investigation
Ramesh also referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation’s handling of earlier education-related cases. He mentioned that the CBI had reportedly filed a closure report in connection with the cancelled UGC-NET 2024 examination, stating that no irregularities had been found.
However, he said that a Delhi court later sought a written explanation from the agency regarding the closure report, after which the CBI requested additional time. According to the Congress leader, the developments had raised fresh doubts over the effectiveness of ongoing investigations into examination-related complaints.
He further claimed that students preparing for national-level examinations were facing increasing uncertainty and stress due to repeated controversies linked to recruitment and entrance tests.
Parliamentary Panel Reviews Exam Security Measures
The issue was also discussed during a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports held on Thursday. Sources said several Members of Parliament questioned senior NTA officials regarding the safeguards being introduced to prevent future paper leaks and strengthen the examination process.
During the meeting, officials informed the committee that NEET-UG 2026 had been conducted on May 3 across 5,432 centres located in 565 cities, including 14 international locations. The examination was held in 13 languages.
According to the agency, more than 22.7 lakh candidates had registered for the medical entrance examination, while over 22.05 lakh students eventually appeared for the test.
Examination Cancelled Amid Allegations
The NTA later cancelled the NEET-UG 2026 examination on May 12 after allegations of paper leaks and other irregularities surfaced from multiple locations. The decision triggered widespread debate across the education sector and among political parties, with demands for greater accountability and stronger examination security systems.
The controversy has once again placed national entrance examinations under public scrutiny, especially as lakhs of students rely on these tests each year for admission into professional courses. Calls for reforms, transparency and stricter monitoring are expected to continue as investigations move forward.