NEET (Representational)
NEW DELHI: NTA director general Abhishek Singh on Thursday told the 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 grilled 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 had summoned senior education ministry officials, including education secretary Vineet Joshi, along with NTA chairperson Pradeep Kumar Joshi and DG Abhishek Singh. The NTA officials reportedly gave a detailed presentation on the recommendations of the Radhakrishnan Committee report on reforms in the examination agency.As per PTI, several MPs questioned the NTA on the steps being taken to strengthen the examination system and prevent future 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 cancelled and re-conducted, Singh did not give a direct answer and instead said the matter was under CBI investigation.The report said some opposition MPs demanded that the CBI probe report be placed before the committee, while BJP MPs objected, arguing that the agency should be allowed to function independently. The NTA informed the panel that around 70 per cent of the short-term measures recommended in the Radhakrishnan Report have already been implemented. Officials also said the agency is considering conducting NEET through a computer-based testing (CBT) platform in the future.Members of the panel also raised concerns over staff shortages in the NTA. According to sources quoted by PTI, the agency informed MPs that it currently faces around a 25 per cent staff shortage and that efforts are underway to fill vacancies systematically.After the meeting, panel chairperson and Congress MP Digvijaya Singh declined to disclose details of the deliberations, saying parliamentary committee proceedings are confidential. However, he later said the meeting “went off very well” and that members expressed concerns over the NEET paper leak.The NTA also briefed the committee on measures being taken to curb examination malpractices, including detailed SOPs for breach management, coordination with state administrations, and monitoring of social media platforms for suspicious activity.The NTA informed the panel that NEET-UG 2026 was conducted on May 3 at 5,432 centres across 565 cities, including 14 international cities. More than 22.7 lakh candidates had registered for the examination, while over 22.05 lakh appeared.The NTA reportedly told the committee that it received inputs regarding alleged malpractice on May 7, four days after the examination, and escalated the matter to central agencies on May 8. Following investigative findings shared by law-enforcement agencies, the decision was taken to cancel NEET-UG 2026 and conduct a re-test on June 21.
