Fear and frustration gripped aspirants for medical seats in Karnataka after the National Testing Agency (NTA) canceled the NEET 2026 exam held on May 3 and announced a re-examination following the question paper leak, throwing the future of lakhs of students into doubt.
About 1.50 lakh students from across the state wrote UGNEET this year.
Krishi (name changed) said, “This was my third attempt at NEET. I was really hoping to get into college this year. I gave three years of my life to this exam and because of the paper leak, I am left in a state of hopelessness and worry about my future as I am not sure how well I can prepare for the exam.” She called for relevant agencies to get to the root of the problem and ensure that similar incidents do not recur.
Dhyan, another student said, “I sacrificed two years for NEET and this time the exam went well. There was a chance to get a good rank. But now the exam has been cancelled. I am worried about how the resit exam will turn out.”
Meanwhile, Youth Congress members who condemned the cancellation of NEET staged a protest against the Union government at Freedom Park in Bengaluru on Tuesday evening.
“Warned in 2024”
Speaking to X, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “In 2024, our government itself took note of Karnataka’s concerns: NEET is unfair to rural and poor students, weakens school education and takes away states’ rightful authority over admissions. Today’s cancellation proves that our concerns were real, urgent and rooted in the interests of students.”
Karnataka Medical Education Minister Sharanprakash Patil called the cancellation “a grave injustice to thousands of aspiring medical students across the country”.
“For the last four to five years, irregularities and controversies in NEET have been a recurring phenomenon with no end in sight,” he said.
Role of Coaching Centres
Dr. Patil alleged that coaching centers in Rajasthan and Haryana are actively organizing question paper leaks to boost their own reputation and business. “Elements within the Union government are complicit in this extortion. The concerned Union minister must resign immediately. Strict regulatory action should be taken against coaching centers indulging in such malpractices,” he added.
Higher Education Minister MC Sudhakar said it was high time the Union government submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court about its inability to conduct NEET exams and allow states to admit medical courses at their level.
“Our state has already passed a resolution regarding the abolition of NEET. We have been conducting admissions to engineering courses without any such negligence. Let the center conduct separate tests for the all-India quota,” the minister said. Dr. Sudhakar further said that Karnataka’s CET is a successful model.
Education Minister Madhu Bangarappa said that repeated loopholes in the NEET examination system are having a serious impact on the mental state of students. “We are constantly trying to reduce the academic and psychological stress of children at the school level. However, such irresponsible decisions of the central government are pushing children and parents into the abyss of despair,” said the minister.
Meanwhile, Union minister HD Kumaraswamy slammed the state Congress leaders and said, “Let the Karnataka government first clean up the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC). Let the state government answer how many exams it has postponed. Congress has no morals to question the Center on canceling NEET.”
Unions are responding
Student organizations like All India Democratic Students Organization (AIDSO) and All India Save Education Committee (AISEC) have also condemned the cancellation of NEET.
Ajay Kamath, AIDSO Karnataka State Secretary, has demanded the abolition of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which has lost the confidence of the country by repeatedly failing to conduct examinations transparently and securely.
“There must be a high-level independent judicial inquiry to hunt down the individuals and the coaching mafia behind the paper leak and the culprits must be given exemplary punishment,” he said.
The Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishath-Karnataka (ABVP) has called for strict and decisive action against the “education mafia” that threatens the integrity of examinations.
“The Union government’s decision to hand over the investigation into the alleged paper leak and irregularities in NEET to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is an appropriate and necessary step,” it said.
Published – 12 May 2026 22:19 IST
