The debate over NEET is bigger than exam integrity - The HinduUpdated - July 29, 2026 09:25 am ISTThe Tamil Nadu Government’s High-Level Committee report, published in 2021, has demonstrated that NEET has desecrated the sanctity of medical education by adopting a high-stakes, invalid schema for testing medical aspirants, says author. Photo shows security personnel trying to evict protesters during the ‘Bihar Bandh’ called over the alleged NEET paper leak and police action against protesting students. | (PTI Photo)Dear brothers and sisters— I mean, you, the youths and fellow citizens fighting for democracy and fundamental rights all across the countryThe leakage of various high-stakes competitive examinations that have been facing our lives for the past several years since their inception has now become a daily occurrence. The leakage of 152 question papers over a decade is a sign of incompetence of the highest order. The suicides among our talented young lives are a great loss to our society.Further, NEET has given rise to a billions of dollars worth coaching industry. Yes, millions of young aspirations and dreams—those that are supposed to shape our future—are now being destroyed. It is not merely a loss of lives, but a loss of aspirations and future hopes for our growth, prosperity, and transformation.(Sign up for THEdge, The Hindu’s weekly education newsletter.)Join THEdge LinkedIn groupRevamping the NTA will not eliminate irregularities and malpractices in NEET, as the NTA is not an education department but a bureaucratic body that lacks the academic expertise to conduct such a massive academic exercise. Additionally, the mechanism involving third parties managing different aspects of NEET—such as the online process, question paper setting, syllabus framing, and nationwide coordination—lacks the academic rigour necessary to effectively conduct such a high-stakes exam, especially given that these parties are transient and change over time.Since the purpose of NEET appears to be more about centralising medical education within the larger politico-cultural framework of the ruling establishment—the Hindutva—its concept and mechanism lack the educational dimensions that a truly competitive exam should embody. Therefore, simply tweaking the NTA to make NEET free of irregularities will not address the fundamental challenges facing medical education and medical aspirants in the country. Moreover, the qualifying criteria and additional entrance examinations beyond secondary-level qualifications for medical admission if any should be delegated to the respective states to decide.But the NEET debacle should not be regarded simply as irregularities, incompetence, or lacunae on the part of the ruling establishment. NEET favours the elite few, at the expense of the larger downtrodden, socially, and educationally backward sections.That is why we should not narrowly attribute the irregularities of high-stakes exams like NEET to incompetence or lack of governance. If you believe that eliminating exam leakages and irregularities in NEET would deliver justice to medical aspirants and address the medical aspirations of the majority, I would only pity you. The damage caused by leaks and irregularities to NEET aspirants would be negligible compared to the harm inflicted by the larger context of the conspiracy behind NEET and the Education Policy.NEET is against medical educationYes, having spearheaded the study conducted by the erstwhile Tamil Nadu government’s High-Level Committee on the impact of NEET on both medical education and medical services, I can authoritatively claim that the criminalities associated with NEET represent only the tip of the iceberg. The destructive impact of NEET on medical education is broader in scope than you might think.The Tamil Nadu Government’s High-Level Committee report, published in 2021, has demonstrated that NEET has desecrated the sanctity of medical education by adopting a high-stakes, invalid schema for testing medical aspirants. The report revealed that:• Firstly, NEET is biased in its content and leans more towards the NCERT-based CBSE syllabus without fostering common-core standards or subject matter applicable to the diverse backgrounds of aspiring medical students;• Secondly, NEET does not measure or assess the ‘chronologically developed academic abilities’ in the pre-required domains related to medical education but instead only evaluates rote memorisation of NCERT-prescribed content;• Thirdly, NEET is unable to accurately ‘predict’ the success of qualified students in their medical studies;• Fourthly, NEET promotes rote ‘coaching’ among aspirants rather than ‘learning’—learning is essential for acquiring comprehensive knowledge and skills fundamental to anyone pursuing medical studies; and• Fifthly, NEET is highly vulnerable to charges of cultural, regional, linguistic, and socioeconomic biases in qualifying students for medical education.Our study demonstrated that, compared to the past, CBSE students secured a lion’s share of medical admissions, surpassing the State Board students. The number of government school students admitted nearly dropped to zero in 2017 due to NEET. Meanwhile, English medium students increased their share in medical admissions by 13%. Rural students declined by 12%, first-generation graduate family students by 10%, and students from poor families by 5%, all because of NEET.This has hindered inclusivity and diversity in medical education, contradicting the mandate of the World Federation for Medical Education. The mandate states that medical education should diversify its admissions to ensure affordability and accessibility for all walks of life—including the poor, downtrodden, rural residents, government school students, vernacular medium students, and first-generation graduates. Only then can all segments of society access quality medical and healthcare services. However, NEET has failed to help medical education achieve this mandate. Instead, it favours the elite few, preventing diverse participation in medical admissions.Therefore, dear youth, you must not be misled by the narrative that “the current NEET crisis is simply a matter of irregularities.” This narrative is stage-managed by the central ruling establishment in collusion with its allies, including the media, bureaucracy, the so-called intellectual class, and cultural institutions. It is not as simple as believing that demitting Dharmendra Pradhan from his education portfolio would undo the damage caused by NEET to medical education. Nevertheless, your demand for his resignation is justified, and we all stand with it. His resignation would at least send a signal to the world that we no longer tolerate fascism and anti-people policies and laws.But beyond his resignation, we must seek the abolition of NEET, as it has proven that it does not select meritorious students, prevents the poor, downtrodden, and rural students from entering medical education, and functions as a commercial enterprise—a fraud on medical education. Therefore, it deserves total elimination from the subcontinent.(By Prof. L. Jawahar Nesan, Former Convenor, Education Policy High Level Committee, Govt of Tamil Nadu and Former Member, High Level Committee to Study the Impact of NEET on Medical Education, Govt of Tamil Nadu)Published - July 29, 2026 08:00 am ISTSign in to unlock member-only benefits!Access 10 free stories every monthSave stories to read laterAccess to comment on every storySign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single clickGet notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products${ ind + 1 } ${ device }Last active - ${ la }