The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), or NEET-UG, a crucial gateway for medical aspirants in India, has been plagued by controversies and concerns in recent years. The NEET-UG is the sole nationwide test for admission to undergraduate medical programs and is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Students are now raising serious concerns over errors in the NEET-UG papers.
The 2024 NEET-UG exam, held on May 5, 2024, which saw participation from approximately 2.4 million candidates, was immediately embroiled in controversy. Allegations of question paper leaks surfaced, with reports of arrests in Bihar and raids in Gujarat related to the malpractice. Some reports indicated the question paper was leaked a day before the exam in Patna, Bihar. The Patna police arrested 13 people, including four examinees, who had allegedly paid between ₹30 lakh and ₹50 lakh to obtain the question paper beforehand. In Godhra, Gujarat, authorities discovered a teacher helping students cheat at an exam center.
The declaration of results on June 4, 2024, added fuel to the fire. An unprecedented number of students achieved perfect scores, raising eyebrows and triggering accusations of irregularities in the exam's conduct and grading. Sixty-seven students secured All India Rank (AIR) 1, a significant jump from previous years. Concerns were raised about the marking system, with some claiming that the NTA's explanations lacked clarity. It was later revealed that 1,563 candidates were awarded "grace marks" to compensate for delays experienced at exam centers and because a physics question had two correct answers. This decision to award grace marks was challenged, with many students filing petitions deeming it "arbitrary" and "unfair". The Supreme Court eventually cancelled the compensatory marks and offered students who had received them the option to retake the test.
Adding to the chaos, reports emerged of errors in the question papers themselves. In Sikar and Gujarat, candidates reported receiving faulty booklets with jumbled page numbers. For instance, students with Paper Code 47 in Sikar found the pages out of order, while candidates using Gujarati-medium Paper Code 48 in Jamnagar faced the same issue. This led to confusion and wasted time, with some students marking answers against the wrong questions on the answer sheet. Guardians submitted formal complaints to the NTA and the Gujarat government, providing scanned copies of the faulty booklets as evidence.
The controversy surrounding the NEET-UG 2024 led to nationwide protests and legal challenges, with students and parents demanding a re-examination. The NTA, however, initially denied any irregularities, attributing the increased number of top scorers to changes in NCERT textbooks and the awarding of grace marks. Amid mounting pressure, the government eventually dismissed the NTA's Director General, Subodh Kumar Singh, and handed over the investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The CBI's investigation revealed that the paper leak had occurred on the morning of the examination, contradicting earlier reports. The agency also found burnt scraps of the NEET-UG 2024 question paper in Patna, tracing them back to a girl examinee who had received a paper with a torn seal. Despite these findings, the Supreme Court ruled that there was no evidence of systemic failure and denied calls for a re-examination, although it acknowledged that at least 155 students had benefited from the paper leak.
The NEET-UG 2025, held on May 4, 2025, aimed to rectify past issues with enhanced security measures. However, errors in question papers and delays in addressing grievances continue to be major points of contention for students and their guardians.
