A special session of the Tamil Nadu Assembly on February 8, 2022 ‘unanimously’ re-adopted a Bill that seeks to dispense with NEET for admission to undergraduate medical courses in the State. Photo: YouTube/TN DIPR

The unprecedented protests by students across the country following the NEET question paper leak are not merely about one compromised examination. They reflect a deeper crisis of confidence in a system that was projected as the ultimate guardian of merit. When lakhs of students lose faith in the fairness of the process that determines their future, the nation’s conscience is shaken.

Tamil Nadu was the first State to raise the red flag against NEET — not because of irregularities in its conduct, but because of the very philosophy behind a single, high-stakes national examination deciding the future of every aspiring medical student. The problem was structural, not procedural. Recent events have vindicated that concern.

Published – July 23, 2026 01:32 am IST