NEET paper leak: MPs grill NTA officials, DG says ‘was not leaked through system’ | India News
New Delhi: NTA director general Abhishek Singh on Thursday told a parliamentary panel that the NEET-UG 2026 paper was not leaked “through their system” and said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is probing the matter.Several MPs on Thursday questioned top National Testing Agency (NTA) officials over the alleged NEET paper leak during a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports.The parliamentary panel summoned education secretary Vineet Joshi along with senior officials of the education ministry including NTA chairperson Pradeep Kumar Joshi and DG Abhishek Singh. NTA officials are said to have made a detailed presentation on the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee report on reforms in the examination body.According to PTI, several MPs have questioned the NTA on the steps taken to strengthen the examination system and prevent future question paper leaks. Sources told the agency that when MPs asked how the NEET paper was leaked if not through the NTA system and why the exam had to be canceled and re-conducted, Singh said the matter was under CBI investigation.Reports said that some opposition MPs demanded that the CBI inquiry report be placed before the committee, while BJP MPs objected, arguing that the agency should be allowed to function independently.The NTA told the panel that about 70 percent of the short-term measures recommended in the Radhakrishnan report have already been implemented. Officials also said that the organization is considering conducting NEET through computer-based testing (CBT) platform in future.Panel members also expressed concern over staff shortages in the NTA. According to sources quoted by PTI, the company informed the MPs that it is currently facing a staff shortage of around 25 per cent and efforts are on to systematically fill vacancies.After the meeting, panel chairperson and Congress MP Digvijay Singh refused to divulge details of the discussions, saying the proceedings of the parliamentary committee are confidential. However, he later said the meeting “went very well” and members expressed concern over the NEET paper leak.NTA apprised the committee about measures taken to prevent examination malpractice including detailed SOPs for management of violations, coordination with state administration and monitoring of social media platforms for suspicious activities.The NTA informed the panel that NEET-UG 2026 was conducted on May 3 at 5,432 centers in 565 cities including 14 international cities. More than 22.7 lakh candidates registered for the exam, while more than 22.05 lakh candidates appeared.The NTA reportedly told the committee that it received input on the alleged misconduct on May 7, four days after the exam, and escalated the matter to the central body on May 8. After the investigation results shared by law-enforcement agencies, it was decided to cancel NEET-UG 2026 and re-examination on June 21.
