Tens of thousands of Indian medical aspirants are sitting for a re-conduct of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) under unprecedented security measures, after a colossal paper leak scandal exposed the rot at the heart of the country's competitive exam system. Sources confirm that at least 20 centres across 12 states were compromised, with question papers allegedly sold for millions of rupees to desperate candidates and their families.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested 14 people, including four employees of the testing agency, but the damage is done. Leaked documents obtained by this correspondent show that answer keys were circulating on WhatsApp and Telegram hours before the original exam date. Students paid between 10 lakh and 50 lakh rupees for a sure pass, insiders claim.
The re-exam, held today, is a logistical nightmare. Candidates were frisked multiple times, metal detectors swept every corridor, and police patrols hovered outside centres. In Delhi, one centre had to be abandoned after a fire alarm triggered by a faulty smoke detector caused a stampede. Two students were hospitalised with minor injuries.
But the real story is what this says about India's education system. NEET is the gateway for 1.6 million students vying for 90,000 medical seats. The pressure is immense, and so is the corruption. "There's an entire black market of exam papers," a former testing official told me off the record. "They sell them like movie tickets."
The government has promised a high-level inquiry, but for the students sitting in that stifling hall, the trust is broken. One candidate, who asked not to be named, said: "We study for years, and then a few rich kids can just buy their way in. It's not fair."
The re-exam results are expected in three weeks. Until then, the questions keep coming: how deep does this go? Who else in power knew? And how many more exams have been compromised? This is a scandal that refuses to stay buried.
