NEET PAPER LEAK EXPOSES SYSTEMIC WEAKNESSES AS PARLIAMENTARY PANEL DEMANDS DIRECT OVERSIGHT OF NTA
October 10, 2026
A parliamentary standing committee has called for sweeping reforms in India’s examination system, recommending a legislative framework to make the National Testing Agency (NTA) accountable to both Houses of Parliament following the cancellation of the NEET (UG) 2026 examination amid allegations of a question-paper leak.
In its report titled Reforms and Strengthening of NTA, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports said public confidence in examinations conducted by the agency was a matter of social justice and national integrity. It acknowledged the NTA’s previous efforts to improve its operations but said the cancellation of the medical entrance examination demonstrated the need for further corrective action.
The NEET (UG) examination, conducted on May 3, was cancelled by the NTA on May 12 amid allegations of a paper leak. The committee warned that organised networks involved in examination fraud continually adapt to exploit weaknesses in the system, making adequate staffing, stronger security protocols, clear accountability and greater digitalisation essential.
Among its principal recommendations, the panel advocated moving examinations towards the computer-based test (CBT) format and reducing dependence on privately operated examination centres. It urged the government to establish secure, government-owned and government-operated computer-based testing facilities, supported by a concrete implementation plan.
The committee also identified the development of a large and continuously updated question bank as a crucial defence against paper leaks. It cautioned that repeatedly using the same question sets or relying on newly prepared papers each year could expose the examination process to security risks. Instead, the NTA should draw questions from a broad and diverse database without giving question-setters advance knowledge of the final examination paper.
For this purpose, the panel recommended recruiting qualified experts from prestigious institutions, including the Indian Institutes of Technology, All India Institutes of Medical Sciences and Indian Institutes of Management. It also called for rigorous checks on the backgrounds and integrity of these experts to identify possible conflicts of interest, including links to private coaching centres or situations in which their family members might be taking the examination.
The report raised concerns about the NTA’s staffing structure, revealing that only 23 of its 39 sanctioned positions were occupied, leaving a vacancy rate of approximately 41 per cent. It noted that the existing positions were filled through deputation rather than permanent recruitment, potentially limiting the agency’s ability to develop specialised institutional expertise.
The committee recommended that the NTA recruit permanent employees, particularly specialists in psychometrics, examination security, digital infrastructure, data analytics and examination logistics. It added that senior officers appointed through the Central Staffing Scheme should supplement, rather than replace, the agency’s permanent specialist workforce.
The panel also called for greater flexibility in handling candidates who arrive late at examination centres. It recommended that such students be permitted to sit for the examination after recording an undertaking, alongside improvements in communication with candidates and other stakeholders.
Emphasising that restoring public confidence would require consistent, transparent and two-way communication, the committee urged examination administrators at every level to regard themselves as guardians of examination integrity rather than merely performing routine duties.
The recommendations place institutional accountability, professional staffing, technological security and question-paper protection at the centre of the proposed overhaul. The report seeks to address the vulnerabilities exposed by the NEET cancellation while encouraging a more reliable and transparent system for conducting high-stakes examinations across the country.
