We thought the stress was over: Telangana aspirants shocked by NEET-UG 2026 cancellation

For 18-year-old Kevin, the past week had felt like the beginning of a long-awaited break. Having completed his intermediate examinations in April and attempted all major competitive entrance tests, including the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (Undergraduate) (NEET-UG) 2026 on May 3, he was spending his summer vacation at home in Hyderabad, unwinding after months of intense preparation.

On Tuesday (May 12, 2026) afternoon, while playing games on his mobile phone, Kevin received a call from a friend. What he initially assumed would be a casual conversation about evening plans instead turned into shocking news. His friend informed him that the NEET-UG 2026 examination, which they had written just a week earlier, had been cancelled.

NEET-UG 2026 cancelled LIVE updates

The National Testing Agency (NTA) on Tuesday (May 12, 2026) announced the cancellation of NEET-UG 2026 and said that the examination would be conducted again. The decision came amid an investigation by the Rajasthan Special Operations Group into allegations that the question paper had been leaked.

“My exam went really well. I had prepared seriously and thought I would clear the cut-off comfortably. I was finally enjoying my summer break before starting a new phase of life in college. Now I am completely blank about what to do. We do not know when the exam will happen again or how to mentally prepare for another attempt,” Kevin said.

The announcement has triggered anxiety and uncertainty among lakhs of aspirants across the country, including thousands in Telangana who had spent months, and in some cases years, preparing for the highly competitive medical entrance examination.

Sanjana Reddy, hailing from Warangal studying at a private college in Hyderabad, said the cancellation had once again pushed students into stress after they believed the most difficult phase was over. “A lot of time, money and dedication went into preparing for NEET. Once I completed the examination, I thought the stress was finally over. Hearing this news now, I am already worried about what will happen next,” she said.

In Telangana, the examination was conducted at 199 centres spread across 24 districts. A total of 73,084 candidates had registered for the test. Hyderabad alone accounted for 69 examination centres with 28,702 registered candidates.

Rahman, another NEET aspirant from Hyderabad, said confusion and disbelief were the first reactions among students after reports of cancellation began circulating online. “When we first heard the news, we thought maybe the examination had been cancelled only in Rajasthan. Then we saw the NTA announcement saying the examination itself had been cancelled and that there would be a fresh test,” he said.

Rahman added that this was his second attempt at NEET after taking a gap year solely for preparation. “I was not satisfied with my marks last year, so I took a year off and joined coaching classes again just for NEET. Last year, students would joke among themselves about whether the exam would get cancelled because there had already been controversy in 2024. But this year nobody expected this because the arrangements at our examination centres were extremely strict,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Students Federation of India (SFI) Telangana State Committee alleged that repeated examination paper leaks reflected the consequences of the centralisation of education and demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak allegations. “If a leak in one State results in the cancellation of the examination nationwide, lakhs of students across the country are forced to bear the consequences,” it said..