The alleged NEET question paper leak and decision to conduct a retest have left nearly 1.5 lakh Karnataka students emotionally drained, with several aspirants now reconsidering their future plans and shifting focus towards engineering courses.

Students who appeared for the May 3 medical entrance examination said they had spent months preparing under intense pressure and were looking forward to a break before counselling and admissions.

Instead, the announcement of a possible re-exam has triggered anxiety, disappointment, and uncertainty among candidates and parents alike.

‘Students are out of exam mode’

Many aspirants said restarting preparation after mentally moving on from the examination has become extremely difficult.

“Many of us are emotionally drained. It is not easy to regain the momentum,” said one candidate preparing for the retest.

Several students criticised the National Testing Agency (NTA), accusing it of failing to ensure fairness and security in the examination process.

“It’s a nightmare to return to the syllabus just when we were preparing to move on,” said long-term aspirant Susiraji K.

Education experts said the controversy has shaken confidence among students, especially those who expected decent scores.

“Students are out of exam mode. Many are now looking at engineering instead because they are disappointed and uncertain whether the next exam will be fair,” said Sridhar G, Founder of Deeksha Networks.

Parents struggle to motivate students again

Parents said many students studying in residential campuses and coaching centres were reluctant to go through the preparation cycle once again.

Some students even said they may abandon medical entrance preparation entirely and focus on other competitive exams such as CUET.

However, a section of parents welcomed the retest, saying it would help genuine candidates affected by alleged malpractice.

Trust in exam system takes a hit

For several aspirants, the incident has damaged trust in the national examination system.

“This was my first drop year. I was confident of getting a dental seat. Now, I don’t think I can trust NTA again,” said student Aayushi Priya.:#NEET #KarnatakaStudents #Engineering #NTA #Education #newskarnataka