NEET UG exam (Images/PTI)

NEW DELHI: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) on Friday wrote to union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan condemning the alleged paper leak in NEET-UG 2026 and demanding immediate action against the National Testing Agency (NTA) and those involved in the malpractice.The organisation urged the government to decentralise the conduct of the NEET-UG examination by assigning greater responsibility to states and Union Territories, while also restoring transparency and public trust in the examination system.In its letter, the IMA expressed ‘profound concern and deep disappointment’ over the developments surrounding the medical entrance examination, stating that repeated controversies and alleged irregularities had caused ‘immense mental trauma, stress, hardship, and uncertainty’ for lakhs of aspirants and their families.Highlighting the scale of the examination, the IMA said more than 22.5 lakh students appeared for NEET-UG 2026 across over 551 cities and 5,500 centres nationwide. It warned that conducting such a large-scale examination in a single phase using physical question papers had become ‘an extremely challenging task’, raising fears of future leaks unless structural reforms were introduced.The doctors body demanded that NEET-UG be conducted entirely in online mode across all states and UTs to minimise the possibility of question paper leaks and examination-related malpractice.It also called for a ‘credible and time-bound’ CBI investigation into the alleged leak, demanding the arrest of all culprits involved, the setting up of special fast-track courts for daily hearings and strict punishment under laws dealing with examination irregularities.Among other recommendations, the IMA sought a comprehensive and impartial investigation to identify all individuals and institutions linked to the alleged leak, along with advanced technological safeguards to prevent recurrence of such incidents.The association further urged authorities to provide timely clarity on the re-examination schedule to reduce anxiety among students and establish counselling and support systems for affected aspirants and parents.“The medical profession is built upon ethics, trust, and credibility. Therefore, the process of selecting future doctors must uphold these very same principles,” the letter stated.The IMA also said recurring controversies surrounding national-level entrance examinations had shaken the confidence of students who spend years preparing for medical admissions.“India’s students are the architects of Viksit Bharat. They deserve the assurance that their future will be determined solely by merit, hard work, and honesty,” the association said.The letter comes days after the NTA announced that the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination will be conducted on June 21 after cancelling the May 3 exam over allegations of large-scale irregularities and question paper leaks.