AAPSU Demands Action Over NEET-UG Paper Leak

ITANAGAR-  The All Arunachal Pradesh Students’ Union (AAPSU) on Wednesday strongly condemned the alleged NEET-UG 2026 paper leak, calling it a “systemic betrayal” of medical aspirants and demanding urgent structural reforms within the National Testing Agency (NTA), along with expanded examination infrastructure in Arunachal Pradesh.

In a press release, AAPSU President Meje Taku said the controversy surrounding the national medical entrance examination was far more serious than an administrative lapse and had struck at the credibility of the country’s merit-based examination system.

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“The NEET-UG examination is the sole entrance gateway for medical and dental undergraduate courses in India,” Taku stated, adding that compromising such an examination undermines public trust in national institutions.

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According to the release, the NTA cancelled the May 3 examination following allegations that a document containing nearly 410 questions had circulated on WhatsApp groups weeks before the test. The union further alleged that around 120 Chemistry questions matched the actual paper. The cancellation reportedly affected over 22.79 lakh registered candidates across the country.

AAPSU stated that the recurrence of alleged paper leaks in consecutive examination cycles — following similar controversy during NEET-UG 2024 — reflected “deep structural rot” within the examination administration system rather than isolated misconduct.

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The union also referred to the FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Prevention of Corruption Act, and the Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act. It demanded that the investigation be completed within a publicly declared time frame and called for strict punishment against all individuals, coaching centres, syndicates, and institutional insiders found involved.

Further, AAPSU urged the Union Education Ministry to present a comprehensive reform plan for the NTA, including independent audits, multi-layered security mechanisms for question paper handling, and mandatory third-party verification of examination conduct.

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On the issue of re-examination, the student body argued that conducting another examination without prior systemic reform would repeat the same flawed process. It insisted that all security reforms should be independently verified before announcing fresh examination dates.

AAPSU also highlighted the disproportionate burden faced by students from Arunachal Pradesh due to the limited number of examination centres in the state. The release noted that only four centres — Itanagar/Naharlagun, Basar, Namsai, and Pasighat — had been designated for NEET 2026 despite Arunachal Pradesh spanning over 83,000 square kilometres across 26 districts.

The union stated that students from remote districts such as Tawang, Anjaw, Dibang Valley, Longding, and Tirap often travel for days under difficult terrain and poor transport conditions to reach examination centres, incurring significant financial and physical hardship.

Demanding corrective measures, AAPSU called on the NTA to immediately establish additional examination centres in district headquarters including Bomdila, Tawang, Tezu, Ziro, Aalo, Changlang, Deomali, and Roing. It described the continued shortage of centres as a form of “structural discrimination” against students from frontier and geographically challenging states.

The union further asserted that students from Arunachal Pradesh seek only a fair examination process and accessible examination centres without having to compromise their health, finances, or livelihoods. AAPSU said it would continue pursuing the matter through representations before the Ministry of Education and wider student mobilisation until its demands are addressed.