Tight security as India holds exam retest after leak scandal

NEW DELHI

India’s 2.2 million aspiring medical students sit a re-examination under tight security on Sunday, after the last test was scrapped following a paper leak that triggered widespread outrage.

The failure of the hugely competitive exam, along with a separate marking fiasco in high school tests, sparked an outcry and fueled youth protests demanding the education minister’s resignation.

The authorities say they have deployed more than 200,000 officials, including police, and restricted the Telegram messaging app.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) said it had put in a place a “multi-layered security framework to ensure a fair and transparent examination.”

That includes biometric authentication, AI-enabled camera surveillance and GPS tracking of question papers, it said.

The National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET), the gateway to India’s medical colleges, is taken annually by millions of candidates competing for just over 100,000 undergraduate seats.

The intense competition has fueled a vast coaching industry and created opportunities for organized criminal networks seeking to profit from paper leaks and exam fraud.

The leak prompted a backlash from students and parents after last month’s exam was scrapped, with Indian media reporting suicides of some teenagers. India’s Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested the alleged kingpin behind the leak, identifying him as a chemistry lecturer.

The NTA said that messaging apps were used “by cheating rackets to defraud candidates” by sharing leaked questions.