Re-NEET 2026 — Triggers, Trauma & Tension
Disclaimer: Contains mention of student mental health crisis, suicide
The examination location was sweltering. It was not the hottest day of summer, yet it was definitely on the hotter side, especially considering the delayed onset of rains raising temperatures even in the end of June. Yet this did not deter the attendance at the examination centre. There were roughly 600–700 people near the entrance, including the police officers allotted to maintain the sanctity before the exam. This was my first time being a spectator to this tensed environment. I was always a participant till now, “The Student”.
Being a student comes with a huge responsibility of “Absorbing, Preserving and Progressing Knowledge”. But my experience as a student in India, at least till my 12th Grade (Final Year of High School) this responsibility seemed unfulfilled. And at least to majority of population of students in this age group, are mostly hanging by a thread due to “Competitive Examinations”.
Many might know of Gaokao - College Entrance Examination in China, Suneung or CSAT (College Scholastic Ability Test) in Korea. What is so unique or different about Competitive Examinations in India? After 12th Grade, students in India have to choose their future colleges through three different exam categories for different professions. There is the JEE (Joint Entrance Examination) written by students aiming to become engineers, NEET-UG (National Eligibility Entrance Test) written by students to become medical professionals including doctors, dentists, pharmacologists amongst others. Another major examination is CLAT (Common Law Admission Test) for students aspiring to become Lawyers and work in Public Services.
Students during 11th and 12th grade choose a stream of subjects in compliance with which entrance exam they wish to appear for. My stream was Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, by which I was eligible to write the JEE exam to become an engineer. I had to write JEE Mains, get a 99+ percentile to qualify for JEE Advanced and then get a rank of top 10,000 to get a seat in one of the 23 IITs. JEE Advanced is much harder and lengthier test, with only top 0.25 million able to appear to the exam, where as JEE Mains is much more competitive exam, but an easier one comparatively.
In the above chart, we can see the exam and student sorting process in rough scale. Around 1.5 million students take this exam every year, with only around 18,000 students getting into the set of 23 top national institutes called IITs (Indian Institute of Technology). The next set of 45,000 students get distributed amongst NITs, IIITs and other national government colleges. Each state has separate engineering entrance exams too which remaining set of around 10,000 students each in state wide national colleges. So approximately 0.2 million secure government seats. The remaining either write entrance exams or maybe purchase seats in these private institutions.
When we come to medical entrance examination, the NEET, it gets more complicated. There exists only one exam to get into various National and State government colleges including prestigious institutions like 20 AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) , JIPMER, AFMC. And roughly 2 million students take this test, with only 60,000 free seats in government colleges and maximum private seats accounting to 2 lakh. And private seats in medical cost crazy compared to the government ones, (lowest seat maybe Rs. 5000 ($50) per month) and private ones may cost up to Rs. 2 Crore ($200k) per year. So the competition to secure government seats is fierce.
Seeing the numbers might be boggling, imagine the students who are part of the system? The ranks and marks are just statistics for us, but a life changing reality for them. And they know that, hence succumb to pressure and anxiety.
“I can write freely about these exams now that I am done with my education, but remembering those times of preparation is still hard for me, especially not having a community to share your pressure and anxiety, as every peer was after all a competitor.”
Education has become one of the biggest market, ranging from varied specialised coaching programs which might even begin as early as 1st grade of schooling. The media’s hype around success of graduates from these top institutes along with the societal prestige tied to kids going to become doctors, engineers, lawyers has driven parents to “prepare” their kids to get the best ranks and secure spot in these institutions.
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This trend led to formation of specialised coaching towns like “Kota” in Rajasthan, Delhi, Pune in Maharashtra, Hyderabad in Telangana, Sikar in Rajasthan. Kota is the first and most prominent name in the list, as it was popular amongst the students to provide a distraction free zone with coaching centres and study halls for uninterrupted studying to write the examinations. This place is that popular that a show called “Kota Factory” took a deeper insight into students’ lives and their preparation for IITJEE Examination.
“I personally could not watch the entire show until my 2nd year of undergraduate. I was just scared how lives of others look during the preparation and if I find something scary which might distract from my preparation. When I watched the end, I was in tears. My mom asked me, why are you crying, you made it to the finish line, and I were like, what about those who didn’t ?”
So my entire context building ends here, and hopefully this gives you some insight into the landscape of competitive examinations in India. Imagine you wrote one of these life changing tests. After writing it, you are relieved, get holidays for the first time since past two years and maybe sleep straight for two days after the exam. After a week, you get the news of the examination being cancelled due to a possible paper leak and there will be a re-examination, what would be your first thought?
“I thought I am done with it, at least until the results!”
“Why does this happen the year I write the exam?”
“I already donated off my books to a distant relative, I need to get them back asap and prepare!”
This is what happened to the students writing NEET-2026. I will not go much into the politics and the utter administration failure in this article, already many people have covered it in detail, but I would rather focus on the students’ mental turmoil.
Paper leaks are not new in India, and especially not for the NEET examination. NEET-2024 was allegedly leaked in a shorter scale and the authorities took revenge for this mess by setting a very difficult paper in 2025. Imagine when the average cut off for securing a seat in government college for a General Category student was roughly 625–685 out off 720 in 2024 where as it dropped to 530–625, which is a massive difference.
NEET-2026 was a much balanced paper, but due to a widespread leak across different states and more than 1 lakh students, it had to be cancelled. Students were given about 3 weeks time to prepare for RE-NEET 2026, but some had already left for their hometowns, which had no test centres. Some were on a much needed vacation, while others were just chilling at their homes during the break. To pick up books and again give the exam under such circumstances takes such a mental toll on them.
It might be a golden chance for students who did not perform well, but for many the uncertainty of what to expect was much harrowing. At least 14 cases of suicides of students were reported after the re-NEET announcement, triggered by anxiety, uncertainty and stress.
I was not present when my sibling was giving the NEET-2026, but virtually available for them to share their anxieties due to my past experience with these kind of examinations. I know how difficult it is, but to do it again in span of few weeks is disastrous.
“If I were asked to retake the JEE Advanced again in few weeks, I would’ve cried and not written the test again. It was such a trauma, not the exam but the aftermath. The expectations and the key never match, at least not for many of us and you are left in anxiety of what to expect and if you would make the cut. You are never satisfied with your result, if you got x rank, there was always x-1, maybe the only satisfied person was the Rank 1.”
Seeing my sibling go back to their books and start preparing was such an act of helplessness, masked by the brave front they put on. During their re-NEET I was present in person and it was the first time I was on the team of students’ family. Earlier all visits to an examination have been me as the student giving the exams accompanied by my family.
Waiting near the test centre gave me the sense of importance of this exam to various families. Some have come from the city itself, with comfort and convenience to return to their homes after leaving the students. While others have come from far places, with boxes packed and almost out of drinking water, who need to wait in the sweltering heat outside the centres during the test. Some can afford a cab ride, while some hailed an auto (tuk-tuk) or bus to reach here. Some came from privileged economic situations, who can afford to falter and maybe a couple of mistakes in the test and still end up getting a seat, while others cannot afford any mistake as their future depends on this test alone.
“The scene is still stuck in my head, despite being 3 weeks old. I always thought why do the families wait, how much pressurised the kids must feel to have these anxious faces await them. The kids are the ones who are going to a war, the least they could do is reassure them whatever the result maybe, it is fine. But that is easy for me to think because of my family’s position. Many parents do not even have the choice to utter the reassurances, as their reality may not allow them any.”
This experience and my past ones have always left me thinking, whom should I blame for this situation of helplessness? Parents? Government? Media? Society? Coaching Centres and Colleges? I still do not know. But this topic has been discussed amongst my peers and all of us have a similar thought, “Maybe our luck is bad to be born during these times in this place, we cannot point the blame to one single element. We can just hope this changes in future.”
I just want all of you to pause and think about this. Do you want your kids to grow up and get educated in this environment, where the joy of learning is diluted and dissolved by these examinations?
“Personally I re-discovered my joy in learning during my undergraduate years, and I had time and resources to explore at least few of the things, try and fail at times. But I didn’t have that freedom before. I believe every student should have that. Many of my batchmates, were just not that passionate about what they were studying, and were behind securing placements. I know money is important, but I would rather not study a degree in which I have no stakes in learning. Situation is different for everyone hence I do not judge them for their choices. I hope they succeed in whatever decisions they make.”
As you have reached the ending, I would like to thank you for your attention. Hope you all have implored over the article. Feel free to post any agreements or disagreements in the comments section below.
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