How NTA's Digital Lock For NEET-UG Question Papers Failed At Exam Centres

Patna: Bihar Police's Economic Offences Unit (EOU) has revealed that digital locks on question paper boxes sent by the National Testing Agency (NTA) malfunctioned, leading to manual unsealing at various examination centers. This malfunction caused delays and irregularities during the distribution of NEET-UG exam papers on May 5.

The digital locks, designed to open automatically just before the exam, failed at numerous centers. As a result, officials had to open the boxes manually, delaying the start of the examination and affecting the timely distribution of question papers to candidates. This issue came to light when NEET examination papers were distributed late at several centers, prompting the NTA to award grace marks to 1,563 candidates. This led to an unprecedented number of 67 toppers in NEET's history.

The EOU's investigation revealed that the delay was directly caused by the failure of the digital locks. In a further complication, two sets of papers were hastily distributed at three centers in Haryana's Bahadurgarh: Vijaya School, SR Century School, and Hardayal Public School. While the management of these schools confirmed the distribution of two sets of papers, one set was later retrieved. Candidates were given an additional 30 minutes and grace marks, but only those at Hardayal Public School received the grace marks.

At Vijaya School, one box was opened at 1:15 pm on May 5, while three others remained unopened. When the NTA was notified, officials were instructed to open the boxes manually. In the ensuing chaos, both sets of papers were distributed. Manual unboxing requires two locks: one held by the NTA center observer and the other by the sensor superintendent, with the process video-recorded by the NTA.

The malfunction of the digital locks raises critical questions about their reliability. In response, the EOU submitted its findings to the Union Education Ministry on Saturday. 

Subsequently, NTA Director General Subodh Kumar Singh was replaced by retired IAS officer Pradeep Singh Kharola. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has been tasked with further investigating the paper leak in both NEET and NET exams.