The cancellation of a crucial exam held earlier in May for admission to medical colleges over allegations of a paper leak has sparked protests in the Indian capital, Delhi.
The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate), known as NEET-UG, is the gateway to studying medicine in India and is required for joining medical colleges across the country.
Nearly 2.28 million candidates wrote the exam on 3 May at more than 5,000 centres across India.
But within days, allegations of a paper leak sparked anger among students and parents, with protests and political backlash mounting through the week.
On Tuesday, the federal government’s National Testing Agency (NTA) – which conducts the exam – said that based on its findings and an ongoing investigation, “the present examination process could not be allowed to stand”.
Fresh dates for a retest have not been announced yet, raising concerns among students and parents over possible delays to the admission process.
Indian media reports suggest investigators believe the alleged leak may have originated in the western state of Rajasthan, days before the exam was held.
A senior Rajasthan police official told news agency ANI that they were looking at a “guess paper”, which was allegedly circulated ahead of the test. A “guess paper” is a set of questions that teachers or coaching institutes predict could appear in an exam, based on past papers and exam patterns.
The official said that the “guess paper” this year contained around 410 questions, about 120 of which are said to have appeared in the chemistry section of the actual exam.
There are four different versions or sets of the NEET paper, each containing 180 compulsory questions divided across physics, chemistry and biology sections.
The case has now been handed over to federal investigators at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
Credit: bbc.com
