For millions of Indian families, the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, NEET-UG, is not merely an examination. It is an aspiration condensed into three hours. It is years of sacrifice, sleepless nights, borrowed coaching fees, parents postponing their own needs, and students surrendering adolescence in pursuit of one dream: medicine. 

As a doctor, I understand this dream intimately. I know what it means to work through exhaustion, uncertainty, and competition in order to earn the privilege of serving human life. But I also know this: medicine is built on trust. If the process that selects future doctors is itself compromised, what does that say about the institutions meant to safeguard merit? 

The recent controversies surrounding NEET paper leaks and examination irregularities are not isolated administrative failures; they are symptoms of a deeper institutional decay. In 2024, India witnessed an unprecedented crisis of confidence when allegations of leaked question papers, inflated scores, grace marks, and irregular rank........

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