Published May 15, 2026 | 7:00 AM ⚊ Updated May 15, 2026 | 7:00 AM
Medical seat aspirants will have to take the examination once again.
Synopsis: The cancellation of NEET UG-2026 was a bolt from the blue for many students, who have spent years and shelled out huge amounts preparing for the exam. They have to work again for the re-examination, while coaching centres are seeing the cancellation as an opportunity to make extra money.
A Telegram message allegedly linked to the NEET UG-2026 re-examination began circulating widely on social media just hours after the examination was cancelled on Tuesday, 12 May.
The text read: “NEET RENEET PAPER 2026 REENEET PAPER WILL BE UPLOADED IN TELEGRAM. STAY TUNED ASPIRANTS ❤️”
For many, it appeared to be another viral social media post trying to catch the attention. For NEET aspirants already carrying years of preparation, the message landed differently.
Rajendra, a NEET UG aspirant from Hyderabad who took two drop years, said: “Yesterday, people claiming responsibility for the paper leak posted online saying that they would leak the paper again. What is the use then? This education system feels broken. I believe these exams should eventually move online.”
NTA is announcing re-NEET to fix the paper leak issue, while telegram admins are already preparing the “RENEET PAPER LEAK 2026” thumbnail 😭 they already started making channels and groups named about it. #NEET pic.twitter.com/Vb6NSkQgHr
— photon⁹⁷ 🍁 | fcb (@Red_Mercury___) May 12, 2026
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Rajendra studied at Sri Chaitanya in Hyderabad during his first drop year, paying ₹1 lakh in fees. In his second year, he studied at a government college in Rajendranagar. He took the 3 May examination, scored around 450 marks, and waited.
Then came the cancellation.
“I keep thinking, why is the exam being conducted again? I have already lost my momentum and memory after preparing for so long,” he said. “Right now, I am not even interested in preparing again because it is very hard mentally. You prepare for years, give the examination, and then suddenly you are asked to do it all over again.”
Rajendra said he does not want to join a crash course. “I just want to stay at home.”
He also pointed to a structural concern. “Papers are printed, transported, and distributed across so many centres over several days. If the paper is circulating in hundreds of cities, obviously, it can spread to many people. Once that happens, someone will misuse it.”
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Sunny, from Karimnagar, studied at the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society. He took one drop year and paid ₹1.7 lakh in coaching fees. On 3 May, he attempted nearly 140 questions correctly and walked out of the examination hall expecting a medical seat.
“After completing the exam on May 3, I was very happy because I thought I would get an MBBS seat this year and finally start my career,” he said.
Then the news reached him.
“Suddenly, the news about the paper leak came, and I became very upset. My family members are also suffering because of this situation. We struggled a lot for this exam, so I keep wondering why the paper was leaked.”
He said he expects the re-examination paper to be harder. “I know the upcoming examination will probably be much tougher because this year the paper was leaked. I think the authorities will make the next paper harder. So my preparation also has to become tougher now. I have to once again put all my efforts into this exam.”
Also Read: NEET UG-2026 cancelled after paper leak row
Ramcharan Porika from Warangal scored around 500 marks. He said the examination at his centre was smooth.
“I was feeling very bad because I scored around 500 marks in the exam. In our state, the exam was fair, but in other states, the paper was leaked, and it became unfair,” he said.
His family spent ₹2 lakh a year on coaching. He said students need adequate time before the re-examination. “If they give us 45 to 50 days for preparation, it will be better for us. We got only a short gap after the exam, and now we have to start again from the beginning.”
He also spoke about what repeated controversies signal to students from lower-income families. “NEET is becoming a commercial exam day by day. If rich students can buy papers, then poor students like us cannot become doctors. From this, we feel that only rich people become doctors.”
Akshaya took one drop year and paid ₹4,000 for a Physics Wallah online course. She sat for the 3 May paper and felt she had performed well.
“After the examination, I was really happy because I had done very well. Compared to 2025, this paper was easier, and I was confident that I could score well and possibly get into a medical college,” she said.
She said she will prepare again. “We cannot do anything now. We just have to revise smartly and reattempt the exam.”
But she raised a concern about the extended preparation window. “The paper was leaked in Rajasthan, and I don’t understand why everyone has to write the exam again because of that. This extra time may also become an advantage for students who had not completed their syllabus earlier.”
Lokesh was confident after his third NEET attempt.
“Compared to previous years, the paper this time was very easy. That is why I was confident that I would get a seat this time. I was shocked because the paper felt too easy,” he said.
He said he understands why the re-examination covers all students, including those in states where the paper ran cleanly. “Many students are saying that the paper leak happened in Rajasthan and asking why Telangana students should suffer because of it. But they are only thinking from the state quota perspective. It affects the All India Quota as well. When it comes to AIIMS and other national institutes, everyone gets affected.”
He said delays press hardest on students like him. “I want the next examination to happen as soon as possible because the more it gets delayed, the more complicated and stressful it becomes.”
On the day the cancellation was announced, Sri Chaitanya Group of Institutions put up a Facebook post from its Ballari, Karnataka branch. It announced an exclusive Re-NEET Crash Course beginning 18 May, covering daily assignments, NCERT revision, six-part syllabus tests, alternate-day grand tests, and daily doubt-clearance sessions.
The post carried the line: “Turn this setback into your ultimate comeback.”
When South First contacted the numbers listed on the poster, the institute declined to share information. A Hyderabad institute with a larger presence across the country confirmed discussions around a crash course were underway, with a decision expected within a day or two.
In North India, the students have now started to return to Sikar in Rajasthan, the hub of NEET coaching institutes.
Dr Karthik Nagula of the Healthcare Reforms Doctors Association said, “Coaching institutes, meant for commercial business, won’t leave an opportunity to capitalise on the situation.”
Akshaya noted a difference in her own experience. “I think other coaching institutes may charge for another round of preparation, but I am in PW online(Physics Wallah) coaching, and it is not charging anything until the re-NEET process is completed.”
Bunny Passigada, another NEET UG aspirant, said he accepted the cancellation. “I feel I can write the exam again. I think I can do better this time. If the paper was leaked, then cancelling it is okay.”
But Rajendra, with two drop years behind him, money spent as fees, came back to the same question.
“What is the use then? This education system feels broken.”
(Edited by Majnu Babu).
