The NEET UG paper leak about a month ago has created a storm in the nation. Several students’ organisations and political parties have staged demonstrations all over the country. It has raised serious concerns about all the stakeholders in the education system. The government has ordered Re-NEET which is scheduled to be held on 21st June 2026. This has put lakhs of young students through inconvenience and a lot of mental stress. Some students who could not bear the stress, have even committed suicide. Thus, NEET paper leak is a most severe national crime and has to be dealt with an iron fist and the people responsible for the same need to be given harshest punishment. The main causes of the paper leak need to be understood in the proper perspective.

 

1. The Mindset of Parents. Several parents have a mindset that their ward has to become a doctor at any cost whether he or she is competent or not. For this they are ready to spend any amount of money. The investigating agency has arrested some parents who paid lakhs of rupees to get the paper for their ward. They just did not bother about lacs of students all over the country who worked very hard almost for two years for this critical examination in their career and now all of them have to appear for the examination once again. This has put all the young boys and girls and their families throughout India under a lot of physical and mental stress. Hence the parents involved in this paper leak case have committed a national crime.

 

2. Integrity of the Teachers Involved. The teachers involved in the NEET UG paper leak are blot on the noble profession of teaching. For some monetary gains, these teachers have compromised their integrity and leaked the paper to selected few students. The teachers under investigation were involved in the coaching for NEET. Needless to mention that the National Testing Agency (NTA) has to be extra careful while assigning the paper setting and moderation work of the NEET examination. In future the paper setting and moderation work of the NEET examination should be given to teachers with excellent integrity. The teachers proven to be guilty of involvement in the paper leak should not only be debarred from teaching and coaching, but put behind the bars for a long time. Their assets must be investigated and if found disproportionate to their known sources of income (which is very likely) then harsh punishment should be given to all the guilty teachers for the national crime they have committed.

 

3. Competition Among the Coaching Classes. Unfortunately, the role of a well-known coaching institute for NEET has come under scanner and the director of that institute has been arrested. It is a very sorry state of affairs that the coaching classes are having tie ups with several schools and colleges. The students take admissions in schools or colleges in 11th and 12th in name only. They hardly attend the school or college but go to the coaching classes very regularly. These classes are held during the school or college timings so physically it is not possible for the students to be present at both the places simultaneously. Whether there are any government regulations for conducting the coaching classes and how government permits them to conduct coaching classes during the school or college timings are matter of concern and study. In view of present circumstances, the government has to take a strong decision in this matter. The coaching classes have competition among them to get the best results.

 

This competition becomes unhealthy and leads to malpractice also. It is known that in the entire country, the coaching institutes have a business of several hundred crores. This time the role of coaching institute in paper leak has come to light. However earlier also there might have been several such instances which did not come out in public domain. Several students might have taken advantage of this situation and become doctors by unethical means. This is a serious crime. There should be strict norms and regulations for the coaching classes and these regulations must be meticulously implemented. The Government also must ensure that regular classes are held in the junior colleges and that all the students attend their regular classes. (The author is Retired Professor and Head, Department of Physics, VNIT.)