Everyone likes a NEET paper leak: Students spend Rs 35,000 as coaching hubs cash in

More than 23 lakh students are preparing once again for NEET after the medical entrance examination was cancelled over the paper leak scandal. But while aspirants battle burnout, anxiety and uncertainty, another industry is already moving at full speed: India’s coaching business.

In Kota and Sikar, the country’s largest coaching hubs, institutes have swiftly launched 're-NEET crash courses', 'rank booster batches', 'special revision modules', 'exclusive test series' and 'new sample paper programmes'.

For students, the message is simple and terrifying: pay again, or risk falling behind.

The paper leak may have shattered the credibility of the exam system, but for coaching institutes, the re-exam has opened a fresh revenue stream. Here's how...

‘SEATS ARE LIMITED, PAY NOW...'

Students contacting institutes for re-NEET preparation say the urgency is immediate. At Motion Education in Kota, aspirants are being told to reserve seats quickly because “limited seats” are available in the re-NEET batches.

"Our seats for the re-NEET batch are limited. If you want to secure a seat, pay a token amount of Rs 5,000 now to secure admission," a counsellor at Motion Education told India Today.in.

The institute is charging Rs 5,000 as tuition fees along with an additional Rs 1,000 registration fee for offline crash courses. Online courses are priced at Rs 1,999.

Students are offered two classes daily in batches of around 50 students, while tests are scheduled on alternate days.

Wait, this gets even better. To capitalise on the early market for Re NEET, coaching institutes are queuing up to sweeten the deal.

"We will also refund the tuition fee if a student secures admission to a government medical college," a confident Student Counsellor from Kota told us.

Even before classes begin, the financial pressure has already started.

For students studying in coaching hubs like Kota and Sikar, the burden is harsher. Many had already returned to their hometowns after the exam. Now, they are scrambling again for accommodation, crash courses, fresh test material and travel arrangements.

Accommodation in Kota now costs Rs 15,000 per month, notably higher than what it normally would have cost. Travel back to coaching cities, food expenses, printed study materials and test papers are adding thousands more.

What began as an exam re-conduct is rapidly becoming an expensive race for survival.

THE COST OF 37 DAYS... WHO PAYS FOR IT?

For families already exhausted after years of NEET preparation, the re-exam is proving financially brutal.

An average student preparing again in Kota or Sikar may now spend (on an average):

• Rs 6,000 on crash courses and registration fees

• Rs 15,000 on hostel or PG accommodation (either provided by the Center or arranged nearby)

• Rs 3,000 on test series and fresh sample papers

• Rs 5,000 on travel expenses

• Another Rs 5,000 on food and miscellaneous costs

That takes the burden close to Rs 35,000, in just 37 days!

And this comes after many families have already spent lakhs on two or three years of coaching, hostel fees and preparation material.

A very standardised estimate of the total fee that one candidate would have spent studying for NEET would be Rs 4 lakh for 2 years. And now the same candidate has to shell out Rs 35,000 more to take an exam again.

Even at this time, there is no guarantee of a government seat, there is no guarantee that the paper wouldn't be leaked again.

It is clear who actually is profiting from the failure of India's biggest exam? The coaching hubs will end up earning 8 to 10 lakh just for 37 days of preparation for re-NEET. This is a simplistic breakdown of that number.

HOW MUCH THE COACHING INSTITUTE WILL MAKE IN 37 DAYS (AVERAGE)

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• For a batch of 50 students, the average fee per student is Rs 6000 (offline). There are 2 such batches held every day of the week.
• The total number of students is 100, which means the coaching amount for these students would be Rs 6,00,000 in total.
• Then there is an additional Rs 3000 per student charged for "test series" (20 series in 37 days). The total earnings for the centre will be Rs 3,00,000.
• Add another Rs 15,000 per student for hostel and meals, which takes the sum total to Rs 15,00,000.
• In 37 days, a coaching centre based in Sikar or Kota could end up making as much as 24,00,000 (15,00,000 + 9,00,000)
• There are around 150 coaching institutions for NEET UG and PG in Kota alone. If everyone offers similar rates, each institute will end up making a big profit.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has clarified that no fresh examination fee will be charged, and the original registration fee will be refunded to the candidates.

For the general category, the refund amount is Rs 1700, for EWS/OBC, it is Rs 1600, and Rs 1000 for SC/ST/transgender.

But here's the bigger question that students and parents are asking: who will compensate for the far bigger costs created by the collapse of the examination system itself?

RE-NEET DOES A RE-TAKE (OF COACHING MESS)

The cancellation of NEET has triggered another migration towards Kota and Sikar. Students are once again rushing to coaching hubs for revision batches, test series and short-term stays. There are renewed demand for hostel rooms and rapid enrolments in re-NEET programmes.

In Sikar, Matrix Academy has launched a month-long offline testing programme from May 17 to June 19. The package includes 20 tests and costs Rs 3,000 each, which sums up to Rs 60,000 for one student just to re-appear in NEET.

The student engagement counsellor at Allen Career Institute in Kota, informed us that the institute will offer 'Rank Booster Classes' free of cost, including morning lectures, afternoon tests and evening analysis sessions. Yet even where classes are free, students still bear the cost of the internet, accommodation, travel, food and study materials.

The result is a familiar pattern in India’s entrance-exam ecosystem: when panic rises, spending rises with it and the coaching hubs run the fastest to take advantage of it.

BACK TO SQUARE ONE: A NEET ASPIRANT

The financial burden is only one part of the crisis. Anuska Sarkar, a NEET aspirant from Kota, speaking to India Today, described how the cancellation pushed her “back to square one” after years of preparation, burnout and health struggles.

Her words reflect a growing emotional collapse among aspirants who believed the exam phase was finally over.

Many had returned home after the May 3 exam. Some had stopped studying entirely. Others were already preparing mentally for counselling and results. Now, with the re-exam scheduled for June 21, students are being forced to restart intense preparation in less than six weeks.

The pressure is no longer just academic. It is psychological. And increasingly, it is economic.

A SYSTEM FAILURE, BUT STUDENTS PAY PRICE

The NEET paper leak controversy has exposed deep cracks in India’s examination system.

Parliamentary panels have now summoned NTA officials as questions grow over how one of the country’s largest entrance examinations could allegedly be compromised at such a massive scale.

Yet despite the institutional failure, a considerable burden is falling almost entirely on students. Millions of aspirants are paying again – emotionally, mentally and financially – for an exam they had already taken once.

For many families, the re-NEET is no longer about fairness, it is about how much more they can afford to lose. Again.

As for the coaching mafia, yes, they do love a NEET paper leak!