India holds NEET retest under heavy security after paper leak scandal

NEW DELHI: More than 2.2 million medical college aspirants in India were due to sit a retest on Sunday under extensive security arrangements after the previous examination was cancelled over a question paper leak that triggered widespread anger.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, or NEET, is the main route into India’s medical colleges and is taken each year by millions of students competing for just over 100,000 undergraduate seats. The examination was scheduled to begin at 2:00pm local time.

The paper leak controversy, along with a separate dispute over the marking of high school examinations, has prompted protests by young people and calls for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Students and parents reacted strongly after last month’s test was scrapped, while Indian media also reported suicides involving some teenagers.

Security steps for the retest

Authorities said more than 200,000 officials, including police personnel, had been deployed for the re-examination. Restrictions were also imposed on the Telegram messaging application.

The National Testing Agency said it had put in place a multi-layered security framework for the exam. Measures announced by the agency included biometric authentication of candidates, AI-enabled camera surveillance and GPS tracking of question papers.

In its statement, the NTA said the system was intended to ensure a fair and transparent examination. It also said messaging platforms had been used by cheating groups to exploit candidates by circulating leaked papers.

Telegram chief Pavel Durov criticised the week-long restriction, saying the move would not solve the underlying problem.