‘Paper leaks are symptom, NTA is disease’: Students, AISA, SFI demand agency’s scrapping

The National Testing Agency’s (NTA) decision to re-conduct the UGC NET June 2026 examinations for English, Commerce and Sociology has triggered sharp reactions from student organisations, with the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and All India Students’ Association (AISA) questioning the agency’s credibility and demanding accountability for the irregularities. UGC NET answer key LIVE updates .

On August 16, NTA announced University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test, UGC NET re-examination after a committee examined all complaints raised by candidates including errors in question papers. Candidates reported factual, typographical and translation errors, misspelt names of prominent scholars, incorrect book titles, grammatical mistakes, flawed question wording and repetition of questions from UGC NET conducted over the years.

The re-exams for English and Commerce will be held on September 9, while Sociology will be conducted on September 10. No additional examination fee will be charged to candidates.

Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi took to X to ask if papers were leaked before the exam. He said NTA makes the mistake but the student serves the sentence. The post reads, "Just like every other arm of the Modi government, NTA never says it’s their fault. Just like every other compromised paper, I am absolutely sure there will be no accountability. Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation was the first step, not the last. NTA’s leadership must be held accountable too."

It further reads, "To every student sitting this exam again in September - you are not the problem. PM Modi built a system that cannot run an exam and then blames the students who take it."

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Students and teachers have also taken to X to express frustration over NTA’s decision. Several users questioned the agency’s credibility, with one post saying NTA is a disease. Another candidate pointed to the prolonged wait for the Commerce answer key, saying students had already spent nearly eight months preparing and had waited 54+ days for the answer key . Another candidate argued that repeatation of previous-year questions were a “management issue, not a student’s fault” and demanded transparency over any decision to cancel or re-conduct the exam.

Demanding transparency, fairness and accountability, a candidate asked if NTA is considering any action beyond releasing the answer key, candidates deserve a clear legal and regulatory basis. "Where is it written that repetition of PYQs automatically warrants cancellation of an examination?," the post reads.

SFI questions NTA's repeated failures

Reacting to the decision, SFI said, “NTA has once again exposed its failure to conduct a fair and error-free examination.” The organisation said the re-conduct of the three papers was evidence of what it described as the agency’s “repeated failures” and alleged that candidates have consistently been made to bear the consequences of examination-related lapses.

SFI demanded NTA should be scrapped and replaced with a “transparent and accountable examination system”. It also called for a judicial inquiry into testing agency's repeated examination failures and circumstances surrounding defective UGC NET papers. The organisation said, “Students’ futures cannot continue to be treated as collateral damage,” while holding the Union Education Minister accountable for what it described as a continuing pattern of failures.

Connecting dots with irregularities in NEET UG 2026, SFI said, "This is not an isolated incident. From NEET to repeated failures across national examinations, NTA has consistently put students’ futures at risk. The recent nationwide protests demanding accountability reflected the growing anger of students who have repeatedly been forced to bear the consequences of institutional incompetence."

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SFI calls for protest

SFI also announced a protest call for August 17 and appealed to students and its state and local units across the country to participate. The statement further reads, "Every defective or re-conducted examination wastes months of preparation, time and money, disrupts admissions and career plans, and inflicts immense mental distress on students. NTA has systematically failed the very students it is meant to serve."

Students raised concerns about possible paper leak: AISA

AISA also criticised NTA’s decision, alleging that students had raised concerns about a possible paper leak from the beginning of the examination. The organisation further accused the government of responding late, despite what it claimed was evidence being available earlier.

Suggesting that the only way forward would be the dismantling of NTA, SFI said, "The NTA has time and again shown its sheer incapability to conduct exams and now we have another proof that NTA's impunity is unsustainable. The student movement of the country demands the dissolution of NTA!" It further called for an “inquiry” into the matter and demanded that people associated with the setting and conduct of the examination be removed, if found responsible.

AISA also urged the government to invoke the law introduced to prevent paper leaks and take action against those found guilty. It questioned the government’s commitment to fast-track action against examination-related malpractice and demanded that those responsible be punished.