NEET paper leakers had memorised the questions:Neither books came out, nor were devices allowed inside the center; yet the paper was leaked

The NEET paper leak has broken our trust. The people who had been working with us for years were the ones who leaked the paper. Who all were involved and how they did it will become clear after the investigation. But it appears that the questions were leaked after being memorised. Experts follow a fixed protocol while preparing the question paper. The books used to frame the questions are not allowed outside. No electronic device is permitted nearby. This means the people preparing the question paper may have entered the room, referred to the books, created the questions, memorised them, and later leaked them. But now we are building a system in which no single person will be able to compromise the entire process. What exactly we are doing cannot be revealed right now. This was stated by a top official of the National Testing Agency in an exclusive conversation with Bhaskar. However, the official requested anonymity. Read their full interview in a QA format Question: What measures is NTA going to take this time to restore the trust of 2.2 million students and their parents? Which steps are you implementing for the first time? Answer: What happened is very unfortunate. It should not have happened. Our policy was zero tolerance, zero error. The investigation will reveal who is guilty. Many people have been arrested. Currently, several decisions have been taken in the interest of the candidates. They will not have to pay fees. Old fees will be refunded. States have been requested to provide free transportation to children to the exam centers. We are trying to provide the first-choice center. 300,000 children have requested to change centers, and efforts are being made to give everyone their preferred center. Safety and security protocols have been reviewed again. Every step where any mafia could intervene has been eliminated. The ones who just caused the disruption had been working with us for years. They have betrayed us. The problem is that if someone among your trusted people causes trouble, there can be nothing worse than that. Now, we are checking everything three or four times. There are some arrangements that I cannot disclose due to security reasons, but we are ensuring that this doesn’t happen. After the exam on June 21st, I will tell you everything in detail about this. For now, it’s less talk, more action. Access to set the paper will not go to any single person. A lot has been done to minimize the disruption. Question: In the country’s largest examination agency like NTA, only 22 officers are on deputation, there are 39 contractual employees, and 132 outsourced employees. In such a situation, how big a challenge is it to conduct exams for 22 lakh students? Answer: The Government of India has posted two Joint Secretaries. Two Directors have been posted. We have also advertised some positions, but their role will be limited until June 21. Yes, NTA needs to increase its core strength. A lot needs to be done in the long term. We know what needs to be done. Work has started on it. Question: Maharashtra, Bihar, and Rajasthan’s names have primarily come up in paper leaks. CBI investigations are also underway in Haryana, Uttarakhand, Kerala, and Jharkhand. What preparations have been made for these states this time? Answer: We will maintain vigilance everywhere. We cannot play cat and mouse. We are dealing with organized crime. We have to accept this. Question: NTA has entrusted different companies with responsibilities ranging from printing to distribution and CCTV monitoring. How many such companies are currently working with NTA? Answer: There was no lapse in this matter. There was no clue of any incident from movement, storage, or examination centers until May 3rd. There were no complaints even until May 4th, 5th, or 6th. The mark sheets had been returned to us. The evaluation work had begun. We would just say that don’t suppress the irregularities, go to their root. So that no mafia or wealthy person can take the seats of honest children, such a big decision was taken, the exam was cancelled. If we had received the news before May 3rd, we wouldn’t have been in this situation at all. We have increased our social media team. We also arranged a meeting for the minister with the Telegram channels. We instructed them too to increase vigilance. Why do they run channels where groups operate under the name of NEET paper leak? We will make efforts from all sides. The primary responsibility lies with NTA and the government. I take full responsibility. Whatever media is reporting that NTA is claiming its system is completely robust, that is not true. If irregularities have occurred, then how can our system be considered robust? Question: Subject experts who set the question papers also have access to the system and know the questions. Then how will it be ensured that questions are not leaked? Could this happen in upcoming exams too? Answer: These people are teachers. If they memorize it and write it down in the room, that’s also a problem. Questions are made from the book itself. We don’t allow them to take books. If they go into the room and write down the same content from the book that they had here, and then leak it. Nothing has happened with Physics. More has happened with Chemistry. Less has happened with Biology. The full disclosure will be in the investigation. But if even one question is leaked, there’s a problem. If the translator has made a mistake, I will not say that this is not an NTA mistake. I can say that it was not leaked from the examination center and the movement system; it happened before that. It’s happening through the translator, but the responsibility for them also lies with NTA. If there is no irregularity, why would we cancel? Such a big decision is not easy. If you want to remove the disease from its root, you have to perform surgery. I don’t have expertise or a mandate in the ongoing investigation. My current goal is to conduct the examination properly on June 21. My focus is on the target, like Arjuna. I told the CBI that whoever is guilty, even if from within NTA, will be caught and brought out. Four children have committed suicide. How can this happen? It’s shameful. This is not normal. We must ensure that no mistake happens again. Now subject experts will also be restricted. Dependence on one person will have to be reduced, so that if one person messes up, the entire program doesn’t get ruined. There should be multiple people and work should be done in multiple layers. Re-examination on June 21 After paper leaks and other irregularities in the exam held on May 3, the NEET UG 2026 re-exam will be held on June 21, 2026. The time will be from 2 PM to 5:15 PM. This time too, the exam will be in pen-and-paper mode. More than 2.2 million candidates can participate in this. For students who have applied to change their exam centers, work is underway to change their centers. How NTA Sets Question Papers, Know the Process Step 1 : NTA invites subject experts to prepare question papers for Physics, Chemistry, and Biology. Their identities are kept confidential. They are kept in a secret location where no outsider can enter. Step 2 : After the question paper is prepared, its file is kept on a terminal within the NTA premises that is not connected to the internet. How many people opened the file and how many times it was opened, all of this is recorded. Step 3: After the paper is prepared, the question paper is sent from a secure computer to the printing press so that its copies can be printed. If there is more than one press, NTA deploys an observer at each press. During printing, the observer’s mobile phone is also switched off. The printing process is monitored by CCTV cameras. Step 4: The printed question papers are kept in a bank’s secure locker before the exam to prevent them from being leaked or stolen. They are then transported to the exam center. District administration officials are also involved during transportation. Step 5: The question papers are transported to the exam center in GPS-monitored vehicles under police protection.