Kamal Ghorui
It’s hard to understand why the education ministry still hasn’t properly fixed the National Testing Agency (NTA). NTA is the group that conducts big exams like NEET, but it has many weaknesses. It is not created by a law passed in Parliament, so its accountability is unclear. It depends a lot on temporary workers, and there is no strong watchdog checking its work. Even though it conducts many important exams across India, its system is still weak.
Every time there is a paper leak, the same problems are discussed again. But very little changes. Meanwhile, millions of students spend years studying under huge pressure. This year alone, about 23 lakh students appeared for NEET. Many are now worried: if there is a re-test, can they trust it to be fair?
Looking at how slowly the ministry and NTA are acting, many people feel this may not be the last paper leak. Similar problems happened in 2021, 2024, and 2026. It is possible that leaks also happened in other years but nobody was caught. The methods used by cheating gangs are not new, and the weak points in the system have been known for years.
This raises important questions. Why were the safety suggestions from the 2024 Radhakrishnan Committee not fully used? Why doesn’t NTA use simpler methods to reduce leaks, like making several question paper sets instead of just one? Then, even if one paper leaks, it would not help much. Exam scores could still be adjusted fairly. This is a common method and not difficult to do.
People are also asking why, after the NTA chief was removed in 2024, the government did not appoint a full-time director until March 2026. Another big question is whether insiders who may have helped leaks are being properly investigated.
Today, entrance exams have become a huge business. There are coaching centres, hostels, guidebooks, apps, and ed-tech companies earning money from them. On top of this is the illegal “exam mafia” that sells question papers for huge amounts of money. For some families, buying a leaked paper may seem worth it because getting into a government medical college is much cheaper than studying in a private college. Even a small leak can change rankings and affect honest students.
That is why many people cannot understand why reforms are happening so slowly, even after so many leaks in exams conducted by NTA. The weak spots in the system are already known. Students, who suffer the most from these failures, may now have to push harder for changes and demand fair exams and proper compensation when mistakes happen.
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