The Supreme Court on Friday observed that the medical entrance exam NEET-UG has been plagued by mismanagement in recent years, and emphasized that responsibility must be pinned on a specific person or authority for the paper leak that occurred this year. The Centre concurred, stating that the buck must stop somewhere.
Court's Observations on Paper Leak
A bench comprising Justices P S Narasimha and Alok Aradhe remarked that a paper leak is a profoundly traumatic experience for students and their parents, who dedicate an entire year to preparation. The court noted that the National Testing Agency (NTA) is grappling with ad-hocism and should draw lessons from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), which has been conducting various examinations smoothly over the years.
Need for Accountability
The bench issued a notice to the Centre, seeking its response on strengthening the current examination system and making NEET fool-proof. It stated, "The real problem won't stop till actual accountability arises. Not in terms of so-and-so will be liable, it will be effective when we know which individual shoulders the responsibility. Unless you identify the specific duty-bearers, it will be difficult." The court further noted that the problem of ad-hocism is prevalent across institutions in the country.
Monitoring Committee Recommendations
Former ISRO chairman Dr. K Radhakrishnan, who heads the monitoring committee set up by the Supreme Court in 2024 to suggest recommendations for strengthening the conduct of NEET-UG, was present in court. He informed the bench that the committee had submitted 35 long-term and around 60 short-term recommendations, most of which have been implemented. He added that the reforms had largely yielded positive results in NEET-PG 2025, which was conducted "mostly satisfactorily."
The court's intervention underscores the urgent need for systemic reforms to ensure the integrity of high-stakes examinations and restore the confidence of students and parents.
