4 min readMay 13, 2026 09:13 PM IST
RSS-affiliated organisations working in the field of education have expressed serious concern over the ongoing NEET-UG paper leak controversy, holding the National Testing Agency (NTA) squarely responsible for the breach and demanding sweeping structural reforms to restore the credibility of competitive examinations in the country.
In conversations with The Indian Express, office-bearers of the organisations – student body Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas (SSUN) and Vidya Bharati — said repeated instances of paper leaks and examination irregularities pointed to a “systemic failure”, the existence of a well-organised “exam mafia”, and inadequacies in the administrative framework governing large-scale entrance tests.
ABVP national general secretary Virendra Solanki demanded the sacking of all NTA officials, while SSUN national coordinator (competitive exams) Devendra Singh said paper leaks should be treated on the lines of organised crime.
The remarks come amid cancellation of NEET-UG exam after allegations of paper leak.
“What happened was very unfortunate… It is important that such incidents are considered as organised crime and the government deals with it accordingly,” Singh told The Indian Express.
“NEET is a big exam so this issue has been highlighted. But this is regularly happening in state-level exams. The need of the hour is a task force to handle such matters and crack the whip,” he added.
Singh said that while the NTA had introduced some reforms, deeper structural changes were still required.
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ABVP’s Solanki said the episode had raised “serious questions” about the agency’s credibility. “This is a failure on the part of the NTA. There is now a question mark on its credibility. There is a question paper leak mafia in operation,” Solanki said.
Solanki directly questioned the chain of custody of question papers handled by the NTA. “NTA is responsible for printing and transporting the paper to the exam centre. Why does the system have such loopholes…? The responsibility of this leak lies with the NTA,” he said.
“We would want the entire NTA to be sacked, not just the DG. Just change everything,” he added.
He also called for the creation of an independent enforcement mechanism dedicated to examination integrity. “There should be special courts to try these matters,” he added.
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Highlighting the scale and social impact of NEET, Solanki, himself a doctor, said the examination pertained to not just 23 lakh students but “23 lakh families involving over one crore people”.
On whether the scale of centralised examinations had become unmanageable, Solanki said, “Have you ever heard of UPSC or AIIMS PG exam papers being leaked? Government has all the required resources to conduct free and fair exams for 23 lakh students.”
Office-bearers of Vidya Bharati flagged what they described as repeated institutional failures.
“There is some gap somewhere. Only when full facts come out will we know where that gap is. When it happens repeatedly, it raises questions,” said Vidya Bharati general secretary Deshraj Sharma. “Then there is the issue of coaching centres, which have an unscrupulous network. But it cannot be ignored that there is a leak in the system,” he added.
Another senior office-bearer from the organisation said the repeated controversies pointed to both incompetence and dishonesty. “It is evident the NTA has not been able to strengthen its systems. Recently, there were reports that the NTA does not even have enough staff,” the office bearer said.
