Hearing a batch of petitions challenging the NEET-UG medical entrance exam's cancellation after a paper leak, the Supreme Court on Friday remarked that the National Testing Agency (NTA) could learn from the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).Justice PS Narasimha also asked orally how the failure could occur despite a high-powered committee having been formed after a similar incident in 2024. (HT File Photo)Justice PS Narasimha also asked orally how the failure could occur despite a high-powered committee having been formed after a similar incident in 2024. “Either there is something wrong with the original recommendation or there is no proper implementation,” the judge remarked, LiveLaw reported.The High-Level Committee of Experts (HLCE) was constituted by the Ministry of Education in June 2024, following the NEET-UG paper leak controversy that year. It was headed by former ISRO Chairman K. Radhakrishnan, and held extensive consultations with state governments, police authorities, technology experts, student groups, and global testing agencies, also receiving over 37,000 responses via the MyGov portal. The committee submitted its report on October 21, 2024, making 101 recommendations covering examination reforms, data security, institutional restructuring of NTA, examination integrity, mental health support, and technological safeguards. Key proposals included transitioning to online or hybrid exams, reducing dependence on private vendors, and expanding NTA's permanent staffing. Despite this, the 2026 leak has raised serious questions about implementation.Radhakrishna, who headed that committee, appeared in person and told the court: “We have suggested for long term, 35 recommendations; for short term, we recommended 60 [suggestions], which have been mostly implemented.”The UPSC conducts the Civil Services Examination (CSE), the national-level recruitment test for top-tier government positions, including the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and Indian Foreign Service (IFS). Over 5.8 lakh candidates appeared for the UPSC preliminary exam to compete for about 1,000 vacancies, resulting in a 0.17% success rate.As for NEET-UG, the NTA data says over 22 lakh students competed for roughly 1.1 lakh MBBS and other medical seats.Amid this, former army chief General VK Singh recently said that "in the army, paper leak doesn't happen". He said the military uses a system wherein “one person checks only one question” across all answer sheets: “You can't have a fairer system than that.”The NTA is facing Supreme Court scrutiny following the cancellation of the May 3 NEET-UG exam, prompted by a "guess paper" racket where over 120 leaked questions overlapped with the actual booklet. This breach has forced a nationwide re-test scheduled for June 21. The court expressed deep concern over the failure, suggesting the NTA model its security after the UPSC to prevent future systemic collapses.