NEET to recruitment tests: Why India's competitive exams keep failing

The cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 following alleged paper leaks has reignited concerns over the integrity of India's competitive examination system

The cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 after alleged paper leaks has once again exposed deep vulnerabilities in India’s examination mechanisms. Experts say the problem is no longer about isolated breaches but a wider crisis of governance, accountability, and trust.

 

The controversy has placed renewed scrutiny on the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the broader architecture governing entrance and recruitment tests.

 

The medical entrance examination, conducted on May 3 for more than 2.2 million candidates, was scrapped after investigations by Rajasthan Police’s Special Operations Group pointed to a suspected “guess paper” leak. The Centre has since handed over the probe to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), while the NTA announced a fresh examination would be conducted.

   

But experts say the latest NEET controversy is not an isolated failure. Instead, it reflects a recurring pattern across India’s national and state-level examination systems, from the NEET-UG 2024 controversy and UGC-NET cancellation to repeated state recruitment exam leak allegations in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and other states.

 

“India still treats exams as isolated events. Leak networks, however, treat them as organised opportunities,” said Dr Saurabh Kumar, chief executive officer and founder of Shiksha Nation, who has mentored over one lakh students, including IITians, NEET toppers.

 

“This means the system is not merely fighting occasional malpractice; it is fighting an organised economy of unfair advantage,” he added.

A crisis beyond one exam

India’s competitive examinations are a gateway to education, government jobs and social mobility for millions. According to official data, NEET-UG alone is among the world’s largest entrance examinations, with candidate registrations crossing 2.4 million in recent years.

 

Compiled and visualised by Akshita Singh

 

That scale, experts argue, has made examinations high-value targets for organised leak networks.

 

“Wherever the stakes are high and oversight is weak, corruption finds a way,” Kumar said.

 

The issue is not limited to national-level examinations. State recruitment tests have repeatedly faced allegations involving local leak rackets, compromised officials and organised cheating networks.

 

Kumar said national and state-level failures are “different expressions of the same governance problem”.

 

“National examinations face the challenge of scale… State-level recruitment exams often involve regional leak networks, coaching-centre influence, political pressure, compromised officials and insider access,” he said.

The weakest link: Human access

Despite increased use of biometric verification, AI-enabled CCTV surveillance, GPS-tracked paper transport and encryption systems, examination leaks continue to recur.

 

Experts say technology alone cannot secure a system heavily dependent on human handling.

 

Mayank Arora, advocate and partner at the Chambers of Bharat Chugh, said, “Most safeguards are confined to the exam hall, while most leaks occur before the paper reaches the hall”.

 

“The real threat today is an organised ecosystem involving insiders, middlemen, coaching networks, compromised vendors and possibly even local officials,” he added.

 

Manish Mohta, founder of Learning Spiral, whose platform manages examination and assessment systems for institutions including Banaras Hindu University and Jamia Millia Islamia, said the vulnerabilities often extend across the entire examination chain.

 

“Security is often focused solely on the day of the examination, while vulnerabilities exist throughout the entire process, from paper setting and transportation to storage,” he said.

 

“In many instances, people remain the weakest point in the system because multiple vendors and temporary staff have direct access to printed papers,” he added.

 

Dr Kumar shared a similar concern, saying every additional human touchpoint increases the risk.

 

“A question paper passes through setters, moderators, translators, typists, printers, packers, transport handlers, storage officials and centre authorities. Even if ninety-nine people are honest, one compromised person can damage the entire process,” he said.

Why paper-based exams remain vulnerable

The latest controversy has once again revived debate over whether India should shift more examinations to computer-based formats.

 

Hitesh Dharmdasani, chief technology officer at AnexGATE and founder of NetSense CyberSecurity, who has worked on paper-leak prevention projects and technology-based examination security systems, said India’s dependence on large-scale paper-based examinations remains a major challenge.

 

“India operates on a fundamentally different scale. Barring China, there are no other countries where so many entrance tests are conducted for such a large group of students in multiple languages,” he said.

 

“We have struggled to digitise these examinations and move away from analogue systems.”

 

Dharmdasani said computer-based formats are “definitely more superior from a security point of view”, although infrastructure gaps and digital familiarity remain concerns.

 

Mohta similarly noted that once a physical paper is photographed and circulated digitally through messaging platforms, “the test cannot be contained from that point on”.

 

However, experts cautioned against treating digitisation as a complete solution.

 

Ashish Mittal, whole-time director at Innovatiview India, a technology-driven firm providing automated security and surveillance solutions for examinations, elections and large-scale events, said the debate should move beyond simply choosing between paper and computer-based formats.

 

“The focus should not only be on the mode of examination, but on building controlled, secure, purpose-driven examination infrastructure with standardised security protocols, continuous monitoring, and accountability at every stage,” he said.

 

Dr Kumar of Shiksha Nation said computer-based testing could improve security, but “should not be treated as a magic cure”.

 

He warned that digital examinations also create new vulnerabilities, including hacking risks, server failures and unequal access for students from rural backgrounds unfamiliar with computer-based systems.

Accountability after failure

Another recurring criticism is that accountability often emerges only after a controversy becomes public.

 

India enacted the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, introducing stricter penalties for paper leaks and organised cheating. But experts say tougher laws alone cannot create leak-resistant systems.

 

“Strong punishment after the leak does not automatically create a leak-resistant system before the exam,” Dharmdasani said.

 

Kumar said responsibility is frequently diffused across agencies, vendors, and local authorities.

 

“The testing agency blames the centre. The centre blames local staff. Vendors blame operational limitations. Officials blame an external conspiracy,” he said.

 

“Until every stage of the examination chain has a clearly named authority responsible for it, accountability will remain scattered.”

 

Arora also argued that India needs stronger “real-time intelligence” and fully auditable chains of custody instead of post-facto investigations.

 

“If the system only discovers organised cheating after the leak has occurred, then it is barely effective,” he said.

The cost borne by students

While investigations and reforms dominate headlines, experts said the most serious damage is often borne by students and families.

 

For aspirants preparing for years, often spending heavily on coaching, travel and accommodation, cancellations and re-tests mean financial loss, emotional exhaustion and prolonged uncertainty.

 

“Students prepare for years. The system must prepare with equal seriousness,” Kumar said.

 

He added that when institutional failures occur, students should receive “student-sensitive measures such as fee refunds, travel support, priority scheduling and transparent timelines”.

 

The latest NEET cancellation may eventually lead to another re-test and another investigation. But experts say the larger issue extends far beyond a single examination cycle.

 

“Exam integrity cannot be protected in fragments,” Kumar said.

 

For millions of aspirants, the question is no longer only whether an exam was leaked. It is whether India’s competitive examination system can still guarantee fairness, credibility, and trust.