By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, May 14: While the National Testing Agency (NTA) sits on a surplus of nearly Rs 448 crore, students in Meghalaya are paying the price—mentally and financially—for the repeated collapse of India’s premier medical entrance system.
The Meghalaya Pradesh Youth Congress (MPYC) on Thursday staged a protest march from Congress Bhawan to Khyndai Lad, demanding accountability for the NEET UG 2026 paper leak. The demonstration underscored a growing crisis for middle-class families from Mawlai to Tura, for whom a “re-examination” is not just a second chance, but a logistical and financial nightmare involving repeated travel and accommodation costs.
MPYC president Timjim K Momin highlighted a glaring timeline of institutional silence. Despite the NTA claiming “strict security protocols” and GPS-enabled transport on May 2, and receiving reports of irregularities by May 7, the agency maintained as late as May 10 that the May 3 exam was secure. It took nine days for the Central Government to finally cancel the test on May 12 and hand the matter to the CBI.
“This is not merely an administrative lapse; it is a collapse of trust in the national examination system,” Momin said.
He pointed out that the NTA has collected over Rs 3,500 crore in candidate fees over the last six years. Despite recommendations to use its Rs 448 crore surplus to strengthen oversight, the system remains vulnerable to malpractice.
The MPYC argued that students from Meghalaya and the Northeast are among the hardest hit. Families who have already sacrificed to send children to coaching centres in Laitumkhrah or exam centres in Guwahati now face the uncertainty of a fresh round of expenses and mental strain.
The Meghalaya unit of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also expressed “serious concern” over the scandal, calling for a time-bound investigation into coaching networks and “examination mafias.”
While the ABVP urged students not to lose hope, they joined the demand for the Ministry of Education to implement tougher digital security. Both organisations noted that the recurrence of leaks—following similar promises of reform after the 2024 NEET controversy—indicates an institutional failure that routine assurances can no longer fix.
