The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that the current system used to conduct the NEET-UG examination is “foolproof” and difficult to breach, while acknowledging that certain stages of the process involve human intervention.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the government, explained the question-paper preparation, selection and printing process before the Supreme Court as the court heard a plea seeking measures to shift the medical entrance examination to computer-based testing (CBT).
Centre explains NEET question-paper process
Explaining the safeguards, Mehta used a Physics paper containing 100 questions as an example.
According to the government’s submissions, several moderators initially prepare a bank of around 500 questions. Other moderators then select questions from this pool and prepare four separate question papers.
The Director General of the National Testing Agency (NTA) subsequently selects two of those four papers.
The selected papers are then placed in a sealed box and sent to two separate printing presses. The printing process is conducted under CCTV surveillance and CISF security.
The person responsible for the box has a digital key, and the box can only be opened after the printing-press owner contacts the NTA Director General and receives the required code.
Security measures during printing
The Centre told the court that once the sealed box is opened at the printing facility, no outsider is permitted inside the printing press.
The entire process is also video-recorded, according to the government’s submissions.
Mehta further said the person at the printing press is not aware of which examination centre the question papers will ultimately be sent to.
The question papers and OMR sheets are then sealed in envelopes. The seal has to be broken before the contents can be accessed.
The government presented these multiple layers of security as evidence that the existing system is difficult to breach.
NEET paper leak controversy
The government’s arguments come amid continuing scrutiny over the NEET-UG examination process following a question-paper leak controversy.
According to the material presented before the court, the NEET-UG examination conducted on May 3 was cancelled by the NTA following the leak, and a re-examination was ordered for June 21.
The controversy triggered widespread concern among medical aspirants and renewed questions over the security of the examination system.
The latest Supreme Court proceedings are focused on demands for structural changes to the way NEET is conducted.
NTA experts under scrutiny
Despite the Centre’s assertion that the examination system has multiple safeguards, experts involved in the NEET question-paper preparation have also come under scrutiny in the leak investigation.
Three Pune-based experts appointed by the NTA have been identified in connection with the paper-setting process: Manisha Gurunath Mandhare for Botany and Zoology, Prahlad Vithalrao Kulkarni for Chemistry and Manisha Sanjay Havaldar for Physics.
An earlier report stated that Mandhare was involved in four stages of question-paper preparation at the NTA building in Delhi.
The three experts were also reported to have access to all four master sets, internally identified as Kailash, Shivalik, Set 2 and Set 3.
Plea seeks computer-based NEET exam
The Supreme Court is hearing a plea filed by FAIMA and other stakeholders seeking measures to shift NEET from the existing pen-and-paper format to a computer-based test.
The petitioners have argued for changes to the examination system in the wake of concerns surrounding paper leaks and examination security.
The Centre’s detailed explanation of the existing safeguards comes as the court considers whether further changes are necessary to protect the integrity of the country’s largest medical entrance examination.
The hearing could have significant implications for how NEET-UG is conducted in future, particularly amid continued demands for greater transparency and stronger safeguards.
