Patna: The decision of the National Testing Agency (NTA) to cancel the NEET-UG 2026 following allegations of a large-scale paper leak has left students across Bihar shocked, anxious and uncertain about their future.Rahul Kumar, an 18-year-old aspirant from Patna’s Makhaniakuan area, said, “I studied 14-15 hours every day for the last two years. I sacrificed my sleep, health and family time for this single exam. Now after the leak, the paper has been cancelled. All my hard work feels wasted. We do not even know when the new exam will be held.”Another aspirant from Kankarbagh said, “The pressure was already very high. We heard rumours of a leak right after the exam. Now that it is officially cancelled, there is so much uncertainty. This waiting period is mentally exhausting. Besides, I have to revise everything again, because after the exam I was relaxed and waiting for the result. Don’t even know how much time we will get to prepare for the exam.”A resident of SK Puri and father of an aspirant expressed disappointment over the development.“Our children prepare with full dedication for this one chance. When some people leak the paper for money, the dreams of honest students are crushed,” he said.Many students in Patna are now struggling with anxiety and stress. Coaching institutes reported a sharp rise in the number of aspirants visiting centres amid fears over the difficulty level of the fresh examination and uncertainty regarding the new schedule.Anand Jaiswal, director of a coaching institute on Boring Road, said, “Over 1.5 lakh from Bihar appeared in the exam. This repeated leak has caused huge distress among the students. The CBI inquiry is a welcome step and we hope it will bring strong action. To prevent future leaks, the exam should be conducted in online mode as printed papers are more vulnerable. Students should not lose heart — those who performed well must aim even higher.”He assured students that the institute would provide free online and offline classes to all candidates preparing for the re-examination.“They must continue to work with full dedication,” Anand said.Teacher Guru Rahman, whose daughter also appeared in the examination, strongly criticised the NTA and the system.“This is a complete betrayal of students and their families. The secret is now out — there are more paper setters active than candidates in every NEET exam. What happened in Rajasthan is not isolated; it happens everywhere. This is a total failure of the govt and the system,” Guru said.
