For The Goan
The biggest problem with NEET today is not just the issue of paper leaks. It is the erosion of trust in the system.
A student preparing for NEET sacrifices 2“4 years of their life. Families spend significant amounts on coaching, hostel, travel, and emotional support. When allegations of leaks, grace marks, mismanagement, or unfair normalisation arise repeatedly, students begin to feel that hard work alone may not be enough. That is extremely dangerous for any education system. Recent Supreme Court observations have also expressed serious concern regarding repeated lapses in NEET administration.
I feel the problems can be grouped into 5 major areas:
1. Over-centralisation
One exam decides the future of nearly 24 lakh students (which includes approximately 12 lakh repeaters). This creates enormous pressure and makes the system vulnerable.
2. Weak exam security
Transportation of question papers, printing chains, local centre coordination, solver gangs, impersonation, and organised cheating networks create multiple loopholes. Several investigations and arrests after the 2024 and 2026 controversies have exposed these weaknesses.
3. Lack of transparency
Whenever irregularities occur, communication is often delayed or inconsistent. This leads to panic and the spread of rumours.
4. Coaching culture imbalance
NEET increasingly rewards extreme speed and repetitive MCQ drilling rather than genuine medical aptitude or scientific curiosity, unlike the IIT JEE Advanced examination.
5. Mental health crisis
Students prepare in isolation for years.
One bad day can destroy confidence. Re-exams and uncertainty further worsen the emotional burden.
How can it be solved?
Fully digital secure testing in phases
India will eventually have to move towards computer-based testing for NEET, similar to JEE Main and JEE Advanced.
Advantages: No physical paper transport, randomised question order, encrypted delivery, faster forensic tracking of malpractice.
However, this should be implemented gradually, as rural infrastructure still varies widely. Some students from rural areas may not be comfortable with online examinations.
Multiple attempts per year
Like JEE Main, NEET could eventually move towards two attempts annually.
This would: Reduce pressure on a single day. The fact that 50 per cent of NEET aspirants are repeaters supports this point. Reduce the impact of illness, anxiety, or mismanagement. Reduce desperation that fuels cheating mafias.
Strong independent exam authority
The current system needs: Independent auditing, cybersecurity experts, retired judicial oversight, real-time monitoring, accountability with strict punishment. If senior officials face real consequences for lapses, systems improve rapidly.
AI-based anomaly detection
Modern analytics can identify: Suspicious score clusters, abnormal centre-wise performance, impersonation patterns, coordinated cheating behaviour. Banks and stock markets already use such systems. High-stakes exams like JEE and NEET must adopt them too.
Reduce dependence on one exam
This is probably the most important long-term reform.
Medical admissions could include: NEET score, aptitude assessment, interview or situational judgment tests (for selected tiers).
A single 3-hour MCQ paper like NEET should not completely determine whether someone deserves to become a doctor. I would not say the same about the JEE Advanced exam, as it is extremely challenging and widely regarded as one of the toughest exams in the world.
Massive expansion of quality medical seats
Competition becomes toxic when supply is limited.
India needs: More government medical colleges, better district-level institutions, improved faculty quality, affordable education. When opportunities increase, pressure and corruption automatically reduce.
Many students online are expressing frustration that paper leaks and irregularities seem to recur repeatedly, creating the feeling that honest aspirants suffer despite years of effort. At the same time, reforms after earlier controversies have already been discussed at government and Supreme Court levels, including stronger security, technological upgrades, and institutional restructuring. As someone mentoring competitive exam students, I have noticed another reality: most sincere students are not asking for “easy exams.” They are asking for a fair system. That is the core issue.
(The writer is the Founder Director of Mushtifund Aryaan Higher Secondary School. He is currently the Mentor of Mushtifund Aryaan Higher Secondary School and Director of Aryaan Study Circle’s Gurukul, Arlem)
