NEET cancellation short-term pain for long-term reform: NTA DG Abhishek Singh

National Testing Agency (NTA) director general (DG) Abhishek Singh said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would investigate the matter, warned of strict action against those responsible

National Testing Agency (NTA) director general (DG) Abhishek Singh spoke to HT a day after the agency cancelled the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for Undergraduate courses (NEET-UG) 2026 , a decision that came after at least 120 questions in a “guess paper” — a compilation of probable questions prepared by subject experts and teachers based on previous exam trends — were found to overlap with the May 3 examination paper.

Abhishek Singh, who joined NTA on April 1,said the exam was cancelled after a breach of integrity was found. (Abhishek Singh’s X Account)

Singh, who joined NTA on April 1,said the exam was cancelled after a breach of integrity was found. He said the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) would investigate the matter, warned of strict action against those responsible, called the move a short-term pain for long-term reform, and added that contractual staff in the agency would be replaced with permanent personnel within six to nine months.

Edited excerpts:

On what basis did NTA cancel NEET-UG 2026? What inputs or findings led to the decision?

Based on information received from a whistleblower , we examined two issues: first, whether questions from the guess paper appeared in the actual examination paper; and second, whether the PDF of that guess paper was circulating before May 3, the day of the exam.

Even if a single question from the guess paper matched the actual paper, and if that PDF was in circulation before the exam, it would indicate that the integrity of the examination had been compromised.

With the help of central agencies, we found that some questions did match a PDF that had been circulating before May 3. Based on this, we took the decision to cancel the exam in line with our motive of “zero-error, zero-tolerance” in the examination.

What do you know about the alleged leak so far?

The exact number of matched questions and other details will become clear after the CBI investigation.

State authorities, including the Rajasthan Special Operations Group (SOG), will coordinate with CBI and share all relevant inputs for the probe. I will not comment on the Rajasthan SOG’s findings at this stage; everything will come out in CBI’s report.

Our responsibility is to reconduct the examination if its integrity is compromised, and to do so as quickly as possible so that students’ careers are not adversely affected.

In 2024, the integrity of the exam was allegedly compromised, but there was no re-examination. Why was the response different this time?

I cannot comment on the NEET-UG 2024 controversy.

From the beginning, I made it clear to my team at NTA that I will not tolerate any wrongdoing in the examination process. I had assured the Government of India of an error-free examination.

When it came to light that the integrity of the 2026 exam had been compromised, NTA, with the approval of the Government of India, decided to cancel the NEET-UG 2026 examination conducted on May 3.

It is our collective resolve to root out the problem of paper leaks, no matter how difficult the decisions may be. Had we not cancelled the exam, the problem would have persisted.

These are difficult decisions that may cause short-term pain, but they are necessary for long-term reform. We must ensure that the careers of genuine students are not jeopardised by the actions of a few scamsters.

Why has NTA handed the matter to CBI, given that the agency could not file a chargesheet against alleged NEET 2024 leak mastermind Sanjeev Mukhiya?

There is no investigative agency in India bigger than CBI for such an inquiry.

I do not know why a chargesheet could not be filed in the 2024 case, but I am hopeful that CBI will conduct a smooth and thorough investigation this time.

A member of the Radhakrishnan panel, set up after the 2024 leak, suggested that the leak may have occurred within NTA, possibly involving contractual workers handling question processing, typing, or translation. What is your response?

I will not comment on speculation about whether the leak occurred within NTA or outside it, or whether permanent or contractual staff were involved.

What I can say is that no one found guilty will be spared after the investigation — whether they are NTA officials or individuals outside the agency.

The Radhakrishnan committee recommended replacing contractual staff with permanent, accountable personnel. When will NTA implement this?

We are continuously working to implement all the committee’s recommendations.

Several recommendations have already been fulfilled, and we are targeting to resolve the issue of contractual staffing within the next six to nine months.

The contractual workforce will be replaced with permanent staff during this period.