India, the seventh largest country in the world, is home to about 1.43 billion people. It is not surprising that the education, examination and employment system of a country with such a large population is equally extensive. Every year, lakhs of students appear in various national exams, whether for higher education or recruitment. While most exams proceed without incident, it is not uncommon for them to be canceled or postponed due to alleged paper leaks. In fact, in 2024, many entrance and recruitment exams were canceled or delayed amid such controversies. The NEET UG The 2024 scandal is just one example of many similar cases this year. Today, we’ve compiled some notable examples where alleged paper leaks caused disruption. Let’s dive in.
NEET UG 2024
The NEET UG 2024 exam, held on May 5 for more than 24 lakh students, sparked controversy after question paper leaks and allegations of irregularities. After the results were published on June 4, concerns arose over the grace marks awarded to 1,563 students and the unusually high number of toppers. Nationwide protests ensued, and petitions were filed in the Supreme Court demanding a retrial and reassessment.
On June 13, the Supreme Court, stressing fairness, ordered the re-examination of the students who got grace marks. Despite initial denials, the education minister later admitted there had been a lapse in security protocol. The probe into the alleged paper leak in Hazaribagh and Patna was handed over to the state police, with the court seeking detailed reports.
On July 24, the Supreme Court dismissed petitions for a nationwide retrial, citing lack of systemic issues and potential disruption to academic schedules. It acknowledged isolated incidents of abuse but stressed the need for a thorough investigation without affecting millions of students.
UGC NET 2024
Amid the NEET controversy, the UGC NET June 2024 exam, held on June 18, was canceled due to widespread irregularities. Cases include hologram stickers for identity verification being attached post-examination in Prayagraj and candidates from Danapur in Bihar being caught after biometric data was lost. Additionally, candidates were allowed to take admit cards home, which violated NTA guidelines and raised concerns over verification errors. Poor infrastructure worsened the situation, with heat wave conditions, insufficient water, and inadequate ventilation reported in many centers.
For the first time since 2018, UGC NET was conducted offline in OMR mode instead of Computer-Based Test (CBT), which leads to errors and delays. These systemic failures have highlighted the urgent need to reform India’s examination system to ensure fairness, credibility and student welfare.
Bihar CHO Exam 2024
Bihar State Health Society (BSHS) has canceled the Community Health Officer (CHO) recruitment exam scheduled for December 1 and 2, 2024. The decision stemmed from allegations of widespread paper leaks and irregularities in the online examination process.
According to media reports, Patna police conducted extensive raids in 12 examination centers on suspicion of being involved in the paper leak. More than 12 people were detained for questioning, and two centers were sealed as evidence against them. A WhatsApp chat about the CHO exam, allegedly leaked two days before the exam, triggered the investigation. Authorities are interrogating those detained to find the source of the leak and prevent future irregularities.
MBBS Paper Leak
In Nagpur, MBBS second-year students faced disruption for the third time in December when their fourth paper was delayed by more than an hour and a half due to allegations of a paper leak. The exam, which was supposed to start at 1:30 pm, started only at 3 pm after the Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (MUHS) sent a new set of question papers following an email claiming that the paper had been leaked.
MUHS Vice-Chancellor Dr Madhuri Kanitkar told TOI that it is not possible to announce re-examination every time. “On Monday, we received a complaint about the paper being leaked. Allegations surfaced during the first paper as well. As a backup plan, we decided to delay the paper by an hour and hold it on the same day as the re-examination was difficult,” she said. Kanitkar added that a new question was set in the Pharmacology II paper as a precaution. “An FIR has been registered, and a three-level investigation is underway,” she said.
BPSC 70th CCE Paper Leak
The latest addition to these controversies is the BPSC 70th Integrated Combined Competitive Examination (CCE) 2024. On December 24, hundreds of candidates staged a protest demanding the cancellation of the BPSC 70th CCE exam due to the alleged leakage of question papers during the December 13 exam.
On December 24, BPSC Chairman Parmar Rai Manubhai ruled out the cancellation of the 70th CCE 2024, as reported by PTI. However, he clarified that the Commission will proceed with the re-examination process on December 13 for the candidates who have been assigned to the Bapu Exam Parisar Exam Center. The re-examination is scheduled on January 4, 2025, and the commission has issued an official notification. the same Despite this, many candidates have been demanding the cancellation of the exam.
Chhattisgarh Constable Recruitment Exam
On December 25, the Chhattisgarh government canceled the police constable recruitment process in Rajnandgaon district amid allegations of irregularities, and formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the matter, according to PTI. “Irregularities in the ongoing recruitment process in the 8th battalion of Rajnandgaon came to light, and a case was registered in this regard at the Lalbagh police station on December 17,” an official said, PTI reported. From November 16, candidates from Rajnandgaon, Khairagarh-Chuikhadan-Gandai, Kabirdham (Kawardha), and Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh choki districts were participating in the recruitment process.
The police have so far arrested seven people, including four police constables, two employees of the event management company and a female candidate, on the charge of irregularities.
UP Police Constable Recruitment 2024
In February, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered the cancellation of the UP Police Constable Recruitment Exam 2024, which was originally held on February 17 and 18, after candidates staged massive protests claiming the exam’s integrity had been compromised after the question paper went viral on social media. media hours before the exam begins. Candidates alleged that the paper was available for between ₹ 50,000 to ₹ 2 lakh and many candidates accessed it 8-12 hours before the exam. According to the official, 244 people have been arrested for cheating in the recruitment exam. The re-examination was conducted from August 23 to August 31, 2024.