Public Examination Amendment Bill, 2026 Passed in Lok Sabha

Synopsis

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the eighth day of the Monsoon Session, passed the Public Examination Amendment Bill, 2026, aimed at curbing paper leaks, cheating networks and examination fraud through stricter penalties. However, during the debate, one question dominated the discussion: can tougher laws restore trust in India’s examination system?

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Exam Bill Debate: Punishment vs Prevention

After years of controversy over exam irregularities and paper leaks. The Parliament House began with the debate on the Public Examination Amendment Bill, 2026, which turned into a broader argument over a single question: punishment, prevention, and accountability.

What is the Public Examination Bill?

The Bill aims to make paper leaks, cheating networks and examination fraud much more serious offences by fast-tracking punishments, speeding up investigations and creating stronger Enforcement mechanisms.

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Union Minister of State Dr. Jitendra Singh begins the debate on the Public Examinations Amendment Bill, stating that the amendments are to the 2024 Act, to safeguard students' future, which is being introduced by the current government itself. He also highlighted a series of paper leaks that occurred before 2014, adding that PM Modi and the Government "finished an unfinished task”.

As per BJP MP, Anurag Singh, stated that the government's response to the NEET paper leak he said re-examination was conducted under multi-layered security and held in 5,440 centres in 13 different languages.

Shrikant Eknath Shinde from Shiv Sena said, “We not only condemned the paper leak, but we tried to clean the system. Dharmendra Pradhan took responsibility for the paper leak and resigned. We conducted the NEET re-examination within 37 days and published the result within 25 days. There should be multiple attempts for giving the NEET exam”.

Opposition’s Counter: Punishment comes After Damage

Opposition Argument was taken up by MP Gaurav Gogoi, he began by stating that the government is not serious about the education department. “This is an amendment Bill. If the law came into force in 2024, then how were there so many paper leaks in 2025 or onwards?”

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He also stated that former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, who stepped down over NEET-related irregularities, is just a façade of the education department. Him being removed does not restore any faith in the department, for the students or us, Mr. Gogoi said. 'Who gave order on use of pellet guns during CJP-led protests?’

Congress Member of Parliament Shashi Tharoor said, ‘The System is broken; punishment begins after the damage is already done; our ambition must not be only to punish’. India must opt for a computer-based system, with multiple attempts throughout the year. He also criticised the fast-tracking system as it cannot be achieved without efficient management.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) Member of Parliament Abhishek Banerjee, “Young India is smarter than what BJP thinks, Students are not asking for sympathy, but demanding certainty and a guarantee on results over their hard work, highest form of patriotism is to ‘protect merit’, We support this Bill, but it cannot be a certificate of innocence for the government,” he stated, referring to “no data” on paper leaks and zero convictions in such cases over the past decade.

NTA under Scrutiny Over Exam Irregularities

National Testing Agency (NTA) has been established as a premier, specialist, autonomous and self-sustained testing organisation to conduct entrance examinations for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions. Key Exams Conducted By National Testing Agency (NTA) include JEE Main, NEET-UG, CUET and UGC-NET/CSIR NET.

The National Testing Agency (NTA), which has conducted more than 270 competitive examinations and managed over 6.6 crore candidate registrations since 2018, is operating with just 24 permanent officials while relying on 197 contractual and outsourced personnel. Of the temporary and contractual staff members, 47 officials have been forcefully terminated by the Ministry of Education.

Congress MP Gaurav Gogoi, highlights the shortcomings of the National Testing Agency (NTA), questioning the government over the irregularities. He says the sanctioned capacity of the NTA is 34; then “how come 47 officials were sacked?” He also goes on to question why the NTA Chairman is being “protected”.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav: “They removed a pawn [Dharmendra Pradhan] to save Pradhan Mantri”. Referring to the National Testing Agency and the numerous paper leaks across the country, he said: “Members in the Opposition are afraid that the whole government will soon be outsourced. The organisation that must be most trustworthy are also being outsourced” He says, ‘If he is wrong with stats, then bring Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the House '.

NEET Exam Controversy Sparks Political Debate

While the Bill deals with public examinations broadly, the political debate repeatedly returned to NEET, which has become the symbol of India's examination crisis.

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) Member of Parliament Dayanidhi Maran said the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) is the core issue, which is not uniform and is against students, ‘Doctors who have not written NEET are best in the world’, he added, “NEET is not necessary. Do not go for ‘One India, One Exam’. We are part of India, but not the way you want us to be”.

Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Eknath Shinde said the BJP govt. is with the youth of the country. ‘We do not condemn the paper leak; we tried to clean the system.’ He said Dharmendra Pradhan took responsibility for the paper leak and resigned. “We conducted the NEET re-examination within 37 days and published the result within 25 days,”. He added, ‘There should be multiple attempts for giving the NEET exam’.

Beyond the Bill: Protest Crackdown Enters Parliament

While the Public Examination Amendment Bill, 2026, was centred on tackling examination fraud, the debate also expanded to the government’s handling of student protests. Opposition MPs, including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K.C. Venugopal, and Dimple Yadav, raised allegations of police action during the CJP-led protests and demanded accountability from the Centre.

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra condemned the use of police brute force on students. Demanding answers from PM Modi and Amit Shah, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra asked who gave the order to fire pellet guns on students. She added, “What was the necessity of using brute force by police during the Parliament March?”

Congress MP K.C. Venugopal said, ‘Peaceful students were treated as enemies of the country’. He said that Home Minister Amit Shah should come to the House and order an SIT investigation into the police violence.

Samajwadi Party MP Dimple Yadav, ‘Students faced police brutality without fear’, she said “The students movement was peaceful. They poured on streets from every States during the Parliament March. Students wanted the resignation of Education Minister. We also participated in the movement. I cannot even describe the police brutality inflicted on students. Without fear, students faced this brutality; they felt humiliated. You have stripped the youth of the country of their dignity”.

Exam Bill 2026 Moves to Rajya Sabha

The Bill has cleared its first parliamentary hurdle in the Lok Sabha and will now move to the Rajya Sabha for further consideration, where the debate over examination security, accountability and reforms is expected to continue.